Day 24 - In the home stretch!

Good news - they removed Micah's feeding tube yesterday! He has been eating so well by mouth that they even increased his feeds today. (He's up to a whopping 47 mls now. That's just over an ounce.) Chad spent the day here yesterday with the boys, and they told him Micah could be coming home sometime this week!!!! Looks like the little stinker will beat his big brother home after all. Levi is off his IV and back on bottle feedings. He still is not consistently taking his whole bottle by mouth, but he is taking more than he was. He is also still gaining weight and having slightly fewer tummy issues. They still have not figured out what his digestive problem is, but it might be that he just has a sensitive tummy and will be prone to gas and spitting up. Also he seems to get constipated, where his little bowels just decide to stop working. At least it doesn't look like it is anything serious - his blood cultures are all still clear. They said he is about a week or so behind Micah, so they shouldn't be apart for too long. (I hope!!!) Chad had a great time here with his boys. He fed them, bathed Levi and got lots of cuddling in. I took the girls back to our house to see if I still freaked about about going to the house. Fortunately, it went much better the second time, and I was able to get some MUCH needed cleaning done. Okay, cleaning is an understatement. It was more like an archaeological dig unearthing what had once been a home. Sheesh - no wonder I had a panic attack! What a mess!!!! Chad had spent some time cleaning and rearranging furniture (and packing away anything remotely related to my pregnancy), which I think greatly improved my frame of mind about being there this time around. Also, Sarah and Eric stopped by to help out for a while, so I put Eric to work doing the heavy lifting and hauling. There is still a lot of work to be done. The house has been sadly neglected for the better part of a year, not to mention I still need to clean out and organize the girls clothes (they have outgrown what is in their dressers, plus it is the wrong season...) to make room for all the boys' stuff! Argh!! I have a feeling life is about to get really crazy here in a little while. But it's crazy in a good way!

No place like home?

I had the weirdest experience, and it's actually a little embarrassing to share BUT I figured I could use the prayers. I haven't been home since January, between being in the hospital and being on bed rest at my in-laws. Since the babies were born, we've still been staying with my in-laws so I can be here at the hospital. Anyway, there were a few things I needed to grab, so I stopped by the other day. As soon as I walked in the living room, I started to have a panic attack. I used to have them as a young child and into my late teens/early twenties, but I have not had anything like it happen in years. I tried to ignore it, but it got progressively worse. Finally it got to the point where I was just haphazardly grabbing what I needed off my list and trying to ignore the panic welling up. WEIRD!!!! I finally just had to leave, even though I didn't get everything I needed. It took about five minutes driving down the road to calm back down. I don't know if this is a kind of postpartum hormone craziness or what! My sister suggested it was seeing the living room set up exactly the way it was all those months I was sick. (It was exactly the way I left it, with the couch made up like a bed and my table with my meds next to it, etc...) Sort of a PTSD kind of thing, since being that sick for so long really does mess with your mind. I knew I had been having mental issues coping while I was sick, but I assumed it would all go away once I was better and the babies were born. (Especially since they are doing so much better than we'd hoped.) Needless to say, I would really appreciate your prayers. I have not felt like I was struggling emotionally to that extent (not any more than would be expected in this situation) so this really caught me off guard. I am hoping it's just a hormonal thing and it will pass!!!! It will be quite an inconvenience if I am petrified of my own home. ;0) I have been having a much harder time recovering from this pregnancy than I expected. This one really kicked my butt!! I am still in a lot of pain physically, which I wasn't expecting to last this long. (Although part of it is my own fault, since I really was bad about keeping up with my physical therapy.) Anyhoo, I am hoping as I feel better physically this panic issue will resolve itself. Oh, and I'm having Chad rearrange the furniture to see if that helps! ;0)

A little better

Levi is feeling a little better today. They have put his feeding tube back in and are giving him about 7 mls of breastmilk just so he'll feel like he has something in his tummy. It doesn't work - after about half an hour he is angry again because he's hungry. There's no fooling him with the pacifier either - he wants FOOD!!! The preliminary tests are showing no signs of an infection, and he has had a couple poopy diapers so that rules out a major bowel obstruction. Again, they give the blood cultures a few days to grow before they completely rule anything out, but so far so good. He had another round of x-rays and they look better than the last. So, although they are not sure what was causing the problem, it seems to be clearing up on its own. They are keeping him on antibiotics for 72 hours still, just to be safe.

Micah is eating and growing like a champ. He is still tiny, especially compared to Levi, but developmentally he is progressing right along. They told me today it is likely he will go home before Levi! (But the nurses assured me I have to bring him back for lots of visits. He will leave quite the wake of broken hearts.)

Thanks for all the well wishes for Levi!!! I passed them along to him, but he was more interested in sucking his hand. Sorry, I'll have to work on those social skills.

A Bad Day

Today was a bad day. Levi's digestive issues have escalated, and this morning his little abdomen was all distended and hard. The docs did an x-ray which showed loops of intestine bloated up with gas, and they are worried about an infection. They ran a battery of tests including bloodwork, cultures and a spinal tap, but if it is an infection there is not time to wait for the results of the tests. (For a preemie 12 hours can make a difference in whether or not they are able to fight it or not before it gets too far advanced.) So they have started him on antibiotics, pulled out his feeding tube and they are giving him fluids and lipids through his IV. This makes him even more miserable, since is hungry now on top of everything else. Also, they have a tube down his throat to keep his tummy empty, and he keeps pulling on it which makes him gag constantly. It was so difficult watching him be so miserable all day. He just kept crying and tossing around. If I held him and held his pacifier in his mouth he would calm down and suck that until he realized there was no food in it. Then more crying and flailing around...

As if that wasn't bad enough, after he was back in his bed for a while, I noticed his breathing and heart rate were accelerating. This continued until his heart rate hit over 200 and set off the alarms. His nurse was busy so I called another one, and we figured out his temperature sensor on his body had malfunctioned. It's supposed to monitor his body temp and the bed heats or cools to maintain temperature. For some reason, it wasn't reading his temperature right, so the bed thought he was freezing and had cranked up the heat. His temp was almost 100 degrees when they caught it, and so they had to cool him slowly to avoid shocking his system. I was so frustrated!! As if he wasn't suffering enough.

Anyway, the first of the bloodwork results will be back soon, but the cultures will take a few days. If there is something, it will show up in the cultures in about 24-36 hours, but it takes 5-7 days to consider him clear. Just to be safe they have started treating him, as I mentioned before, but naturally we are hoping it is not an infection. Just pray they figure it out and get it treated soon. It is heart-wrenching to see him so miserable.

Micah is doing fine through it all, thank goodness. He did not take any full bottles by mouth today, but he did gain a little weight. The doctors told me they are very pleased with his progress. They even suggested I try nursing him, but he was totally appalled by it. He kept glaring at me with his brows furrowed like "What are you trying to do to me!??!" I guess it will take a while for him to catch on.

Day 17 - Gaining weight...

Finally both boys have gained weight over the last three days! Levi is now up to 5 pounds 14 ounces, and I didn't get the conversion on Micah yet. (They weigh them in grams.) He is about 4 and a half pounds, though. Micah has also taken three consecutive feedings by mouth, so we are 2 for 4 of the "Big Four" for him to come home! They are joking that Micah will come home, and Levi will still be there when he is over 7 pounds, just kicking back and letting everyone wait on him. Hey, having women attend to your every need all day, why try to change anything!?!? He's definitely a man. He refuses to take more than 10 - 15 ml by mouth, and even that is only every third feeding. In all seriousness, he is having digestive issues since they are fortifying the breast milk they give him. This gives him a rash, gas and poopy troubles... with lots of spit-up for good measure, so he really isn't feeling all that well anyway. We are assuming this is the reason for his lack of interest in eating, since they have checked him for more serious issues and nothing else appears to be wrong. Poor little guy. Both boys have their incubators open full-time now, although they are thinking they may have to close Levi up again if he doesn't start feeling better soon. This would be frustrating to go backward again, but babies set their own pace whether we like it or not.

So, we are hoping they continue to make progress. It's nice after so many of days of just breaking even. Let's hope it keeps up!

No more pictures, Mom!!!

I think Micah is tired of getting his picture taken. Or maybe he's playing peek-a-boo?

Snuggling little brother

Today we let the girls hold Levi for the first time. They were VERY excited about it, and just kept hugging and snuggling him. (No, Levi isn't crying in the above picture - he's actually yawning. Whenever he would feel their face on his cheek, he would open his mouth. So, he has the right instincts, now if he would just actually drink from a bottle!!!!)

Daddy's Girl

Irish Babies

The whole Irish thing is kind of a joke with my family, but they are in fact part Irish! Micah's nickname in the NICU is the little "Irish Temper" because he's so feisty! The girls made shamrocks to decorate their incubators for St. Patrick's Day, and we had to make them pose for a few Irish pics.

Proud Daddy