Progress

So what has gone on in the past 8 or so days? Lets see.....

Both of the boys are doing good. They weigh in at 3 lbs 6 oz. Bryce was extubated on Sunday the 27th and put on CPAP. He did so well that by late Wednesday, he was put on nasal canula. Grant was extubated on Tuesday and was switched to nasal canula on Friday morning. He has since then returned back to CPAP after wearing out on nasal canula but both are doing well at working towards fully breathing on their own.

Grant had a bit of a rough time last week. On Christmas day, his nurses began noticing bowel loops - a sign of dilation (swelling) of the intestinal wall. While doing his assessment on Sunday night (the 26th), his nurse found blood in his poop. He went NPO and was switched back to the TPN and lipids while they did further testing. NEC was the preliminary diagnosis. X-rays were ordered every 4 hours and antibiotics were started. The following day, they also put a suction tube down into his stomach to drain excess air and fluids that may have been causing the dilation. NEC can be quite a serious issue so they watched him very closely. By Monday evening, his x-rays were looking better and no visible blood was found in his stools after the initial find on Sunday night. The original plan was to wait 7-10 days before reintroducing feeds if all went well but he improved so quickly that feeding was started back up on Friday afternoon. He is now up to 5.5 mls every hr; going up by 1 ml every 12 hrs.

Bryce is on full feeds as of Saturday and his TPN & Lipids were discontinued. He's at 10.5 mls an hour. In the coming days they will begin switching him from continuous feeds to bolus feeds; the step before trying oral feeds. He has been having episodes of rapid breathing and the occasional brady episode but has done well enough to remain on the nasal canula for the time being. Both of the boys are growing so much and looking more and more like little newborns and less like little old men. :)

This past week both of their UAC lines stopped working and were removed. On Wednesday I was able to hold them both for the first time. I was so excited to be able to hold them that I was absolutely giddy on the way to the hospital that evening. They both did an awesome job of making their mama feel absolutely special! Once settled into my arms, their breathing slowed and their O2 levels went way up... such an awesome thing. They enjoyed being held as much as I enjoyed holding them! Paul was able to hold Bryce for the first time on Friday night and will be going back up this evening to hold him again. :) The boys still have a little ways to go but they've come such a long way in the past month. A month..... I cannot believe that my sweet boys are a month old already!! How far they've come in that month! We went from wondering whether or not our sweet boys would make it to talking about full feeds, gaining enough weight to start wearing outfits, etc. What an answer to prayer!! If they come home around their due date, which is not unreasonable to think will happen at this point, they will be coming home this coming month! How awesome to be able to say that!!!

Right now we're focusing on them gaining weight and feeding via transpiloric and then OG tube, as well as getting Grant switched back over to nasal canula as he can tolerate it. Praise God that we are not having to worry about ventilators any longer! The boys have eye exams and Grant has his next head ultrasound this coming Monday (the 10th). Please continue to pray that the boys will improve and will handle full feeds by OG in the coming weeks, that they will continue to grow and that February will be the month we will be able to bring our boys home.