Happy Friday!

Friday February 28

Jack has taken all of his feedings for the last 24 hours! If he can do it again today, he will be able to come home tomorrow. When I got here this AM, his feeding tube was out!

Miles has taken 60% of his feedings but the number keeps going up. He has to be here until at least March 3 for monitoring off the caffeine. I am confident he will get the feedings down by then. 

We passed our hearing screens! Jack (above) & Miles (below)

My cousins Kristina & Jessica stopped by yesterday to meet the boys!

Grandma LuAnne got us these cool new bears!

Grandma & Jack

Once Jack leaves the NICU, he can not come back in. So we can either live here until Miles is ready to come home too or bring them home one by one. We have decided to bring them home one at a time. It will be so sad to leave Miles here but it is only a few days. I think he just doesn't want to go out in the cold quite yet. 

My folks have offered to watch Sam until tomorrow & took him to the Children's museum. He was thrilled to go see the fire truck there. He usually just wants to sit in the fire truck for an hour or 2. 

This pic is a few months old. He takes firefighting seriously!  He is so excited to have his brothers home soon.  I told him it is March tomorrow so he has been marching around the house. 

Justin & I are excited to go out on a date tonight before all the boys are home!  We are going dishwasher shopping which will be so nice to have!  Thanks Ekern's! Then out for a margarita then sushi!  Then probably sleeping by 9 to enjoy our last full night of sleep for a while :)

Feeding & Growing

Wednesday February 26

Today was a pretty uneventful day which was nice. Miles got his last dose of caffeine so now the countdown starts to come home hopefully in 5-7 days as long as he continues to have no more episodes of bradycardia needing stimulation. Last time that happened was 6 days ago. Their alarms go off much less often. They do have a few brief episodes of bradycardia and decreased 02 daily, which the nurses say is normal & probably all babies have that at home & we just don't know.

Miles drinking his bottle.  His color is much better today & his face is filling in. He has been taking in about 50% of his bottles & Jack has been taking about 75%. They need to each be taking 75% consistently to come home. I think they should be able to get there by a week or so. 

Jack & Sammy when he was his age. 

Miles

US when we found out about twins!

I had my routine 18 week US in early October. I wasn't measuring any bigger at that point & was maybe a little more nauseated. As soon as the tech put the US probe on, she said, "oh there's 2." I said "WHAT ARE YOU KIDDING!" She said she usually doesn't joke about that & I proceeded to cry the rest of the time. Apparently justin tried to rub my arm & I kept pushing him away. I don't remember this. It was quite the shock. That nighT I was on call & admitted 6 patients & was up most of the night. It was a crazy day!

It took me about a month to wrap my head around 2 babies. All you read about is the risks & I was scared about finances and caring for 2 newborns & a toddler.  We had US every 3 weeks, a few non stress tests towards the end, saw the endocrinologist for hypothyroidism, and had fetal echocardiograms to check for congenital heart disease which is more common in identical twins. Luckily all the tests were normal & I had a good pregnancy overall. Other than getting huge! I was able to go to prenatal yoga until about 30 weeks. I worked full time until they were born. The plan was to cut back on 2/17 but they arrived on 2/16!

Now I am so excited to have 3 boys. Twins are so special & it is amazing snuggling them both. We are so fortunate to have great family & friend support & are so grateful everyone is healthy. I apparently am supposed to have an adventurous life!

Lounging Day

Tuesday February 25
Today when I got to the hospital the boys were in the same room again! Their murse Shawn was very diligent about figuring out the monitors so they could be on central monitoring. The NICU is on overflow too with 18 babies so I think they needed the room. The new hospital was finished a month ago & they have been extremely busy since then. There are also a lot of kids in PICU which the nurses also cover. The NICU used to be one big room so we had good timing with getting to use the new facility. It is beautiful.

 Justin & I spent all day with the boys in their room.  We had so much fun just watching the boys expressions, snuggling, & joking around. I have been  "a little" hormonal & moody the last few weeks of my pregnancy so it was great to have time to reconnect. 

Jack gained a few oz & is up to 4 lbs 14 oz. Miles' weight was the same today at 4 lbs 11 oz. He has been more pukey so we have to feed him more slowly. They are awake for their feedings about every other time.

The big feud began today. As soon as we put the hats on they started fighting. Jack came out ahead since he was wearing the winning teams' gear. LOL. 

Miles was wide awake for a few hours this AM

Jack looks just like Sam in this pic!

One of my favorites.

More windchill advisories tonight! Brrrrrr. I saw it has been the 5th coldest February on record. I usually like winter but this is unbearable! 

Bath day

Monday February 24
Last night my friends the Carlson's stopped over & we decided that I probably just needed a beer. This morning guess what!

Anne thinks she should be my lactation consultant. Unfortunately the supply didn't keep up the rest of the day so we'll see what happens. 

The boys both had their baths today! I bathed Jack & justin bathed Miles. They were not big fans. 

Jack

Miles

I was very excited today when the nurse told me that we could move the boys into the same room all the time. We have been bringing them together when one of us is there. A few hours later they realized that the portable monitor does not have central monitoring capabilities which I think is kind of disturbing. So disappointing!

We continue to work on eating. Yesterday miles took 30% of his bottles and Jack took 46%. Today's numbers are going to be less since they were very sleepy. They want Miles on 2 more days of caffeine, so now it is 7-9 days before we go home : ( 

Jack curled right up on my shoulder to snuggle. I love it when they do this!

Fuzzy Miles

1 week old!

Sunday February 23

We are already 1 week old!

Both babies got out from under the bili lights on Saturday. Their alarms are going off minimally. It has been several days since needing stimulation to breathe. Miles has 2 more days of caffeine, then they need to monitor him for 5-7 days after that is done to make sure he has no episodes off the caffeine. So looks like the earliest they will come home is Saturday. 

They have been too sleepy to try to breast feed so we are working on taking bottles to get them home.  Jack is more eager to eat and has been taking more of his bottles. Miles seems to be 'acting his age' per the nurses and has been slower to figure it out.  Their goal is 44 mL every 3 hours. Whatever they don't eat from the bottle we feed them through the nasal gastric tube. 

Justin feeding Jack via gavage tube

They have been slowly gaining weight and the doctors are pleased with where they are at with this. They are both about 4 lbs 11 oz. they need to be taking in 3/4 of their bottles & gaining weight to come home. 

I have been struggling with continued low milk supply and am pumping for about 4 hours per day. It is very mentally & physically exhausting. I'm not sure how much longer I will try this. It is hard to keep up with eating & drinking enough and having enough time to bond with the boys. I lost almost 30 lbs after they were born so I think my body is drained. I started on a supplement fenugreek, 9 tablets daily which may help. It might make me smell like maple syrup : ) I am only producing about 1/3 of what I should. The doctors told me I need to be taking more breaks from the hospital so I have cut back a little. It is hard because I feel guilty for not being there. Justin tells me I should be Catholic with all my guilt. 

Snuggling with Jack

Aunt Barbara & Uncle Chad met Miles & Jack today! They are expecting their first baby in June & will be great parents!

Grandma Lu Anne & Grandpa Gary

We are so thankful for our great family support! My parents have been so helpful!  We are looking forward to Justin's mom Karen flying in soon & then my sister & her boys will be here to help after that. 

Slave to the Pump

Friday February 20

Today while most of you were a slave to 'the man' I got to the a slave to the breast pump. The lactation consultants were quite concerned that I am losing my milk supply so I had to pump every 30 minutes several times today, and continued frequent sessions.  It is exhausting & I'm not even taking care of the twins at home!  I set the alarm to pump at 1 AM, & apparently hit the snooze until 3 without realizing it.  Sam really would like to help make milk for his brothers too.

He thought it might work to come out of the belly button. 

He also told us he was drinking beer at supper while having his milk. Good Wisconsinite! 2 1/2 is 

such a fun age!

Miles & Jack continue to improve. They have had no more episodes of needing to be stimulated. 

Have had a few self resolving desaturations (decreased 02) but have come up quickly on their own.

  

This is the monitor system. They have it linked so if you are in 1 room you can see what both babies are doing. 

The IVs are out and they are both at goal feedings although it is mostly through the nasal tubes. Their bilirubin levels have come down nicely. They have decided to keep them under the lights until tomorrow to decrease the chance of rebounding and needing to go back in. They were able to come out to play twice today with us. 

Miles with hat Auntie Babs knitted

Jack

Today was the third time we were able to put the boys together. Once they are out of their cages tomorrow we should be able to have them together frequently. We were so giddy & excited to have them snuggling together & comparing them. It is so amazing. Pretty sure we would mix them up quickly! We are planning to paint one of their toenails to tell them apart at home. 

When they laid together their heart rates would go to the same rate. 

Sunbathing

Thursday February 20

Miles decided that he was sick of winter too & heard there was a bad snowstorm coming in so he decided to be under the warm lights. I think they are pretending to be at grandma & grandpa Connolly's place in Florida. Hopefully over a day or 2 they will be able to come out.

                                             Jack looks pretty cozy!

Both boys are still on room air & are doing much better today. They really turned around starting at about midnight last night. Have only had a few alarms & Miles only needed to be stimulated once, Jack not at all. Hopefully they keep it up!

They are increasing the amount of formula/breast milk they are getting and will hopefully be off the IV fluids tomorrow.  My milk came in today & I got to remember the engorgement phase. Fun times! The things we out ourselves through for children!  Miles & Jack are on scheduled feelings every 3 hours where they get fed through a tube from their nose to their stomachs. They try to breast feed, but aren't figuring it out yet. They have adapted to the schedule quickly & you can tell they are hungry right at the 3 hour mark.

The routine in the NICU seems so unnatural for a newborn. You aren't able to hold them as often as you normally would and are so confined to a few feet with them. I can't imagine what it would be like to be here several months. Hopefully it will be short lived for these guys.

On a side note, The snow is still falling outside & the roads are so bad that justin got the car stuck in our alley on the way here. The nurse was saying tonight she heard this was our worst winter in 40 years! Here are a few more cute baby pics.

Miles hanging with his folks

Sleepy Jack