Last night Sebi thought it should be his turn for attention. The nurses felt his belly was looking large so they gave him an x-ray. As it turns out nothing was wrong, he just had some air in there.
This is a recurring theme and we do appreciate that they are precautionary, but one day they will learn that our boys have big bellies and are gassy. Who knows where they get that from?
Back at the hospital…It’s funny how everyone kept talking about looking forward to the long weekend. I had myself convinced that “yes, a nice break from our routine would be nice.” I quickly remembered that there is no break from the routine of a parent, especially not parent of babies in hospital. Haha.
This wasn’t how we would have expected our first holiday as a family would turn out, but Chris and I had a nice long visit Easter Sunday and even had turkey dinner at the Ronald McDonald room. I encourage you all to donate when you go to McDonald’s. It’s amazing the volunteers they have and how much families rely on that room and the Ronald MacDonald House! It truly is my oasis, I’m writing this from here now in fact.
So the boys are doing great. Lucas has slowly slowly increased his feeds to 5ml every 3 hours and increasing 1ml every other feed. I think this should be a great pace for him until his belly gets bigger and his breathing regulates. He spent all night off any oxygen support so Chris and I are hoping he is turning a corner. Sebastian is also doing great. He decided to make a mess of his cot this morning as I changed his diaper. He apparently hadn’t finished just yet and poop came flying out with the pressure of a hose. It got all over me and well he needed a whole new cot that was the extent of the damage. Geez Sebastian, why didn’t you tell me you hadn’t finished yet! Haha.
So today mami and daddy gave Sebastian (who was do) a bath today. Mami washed his face and head, of course the both bothersome part. He fussed! Daddy got to wash his body and he just loved it. He was such a good boy in his swaddle bath soaking in the warmth of the water! Sebastian also reached 2010 grams today…
Today is Lucas’ last day of antibiotics. Horray! Our nurse mentioned he hasn’t looked very settled since this morning. CBC/CRP blood work was run and an abdomen xray which all came back normal. We are all thinking that his feeds have just been increased way to quickly for him to handle. So they are putting Lucas back on NPO and will let his belly settle. I think he just needs to clean out his bowels. They’ll start him back on feeds slowly. Chris and I are being very vocal about not pushing him. We just feel like he keeps taking one step forward and 3 back and its not worth it to just get him to his full feeds.
I hope they listen
Today Chris and I decided to pick our very first primary nurse. This had been our second shift with her and my gut told me she would be an awesome primary. It is so obvious that she loves our boys and thinks they are as cute as we think they are. Haha! Plus, she has also gone through the NICU experience from our side of things. Her son was also born prematurely. So she knows how to approach us about concerns but can also change the subject quickly so that we aren’t always talking about the bad. It gives Chris and I comfort knowing that we will have more consistency for the boys. It’ll be a consistent voice they hear and type of care. Someone who knows them well and knows that they both just have ‘distended bellies’ and that we don’t need to send in an xray or blood work order. She was very honored to be asked and we felt some relief in her accepting! We’re thinking we’ll pick 2 more nurses as we meet them and find that the 5 of us have chemistry!
Lucas finally got his head shaved and he looks as handsome as ever! Oh our boys are just the cutest…
The boys are doing really well. Lucas continues to fight his infection but seemed much more alert this morning. He had a 3rd blood transfusion yesterday and today he looks more pink and is breathing better. He can’t seem to get off the oxygen yet though. They have it at its lowest level and they take him off it for an hour or so and then he needs it back on for a little. Soon enough in a couple of days he’ll be off it. He is working up towards his full feeds. Feeding 13ml every 2 hours and they are going to start fortifying his milk so he gets more protein calories. Overall doing really well! We still haven’t gotten a shaved head though.
Sebastian is doing awesome as well. Yesterday was the first time we tried putting him to breast. We didnt expect him to feed. We just wanted him to get used to the area and see what’d he do. Well, he was a champ. He was definitely showing off. He new exactly what to do. He latched on and started sucking. It was super emotional for me. I was crying. What an amazing bonding experience! Anyways, I had to pull him away cause the nurse was scared he’d get too much milk. He doesn’t know how to swallow very well yet so little steps. He got too eager I think. Oh and today he’s moving to a cot! So again, overall they are both doing great!
Lucas’ 24 hour blood culture came back negative which means the antibiotics are working and my little boy is working hard to get rid of the bug. So Lucas’ haircut looks awful. Haha. We are thinking we’ll just shave his entire head. Let him start from scratch. And that way it’ll be easier for you all to tell them apart. Haha. Do to his infection he wasn’t tolerating his feeds so they put him on NPO (no eating) for a day and have started him back up slowly. I believe today he was at 5ml. His breathing has stabilized a bit too and he’s now on low flow. So overall he’s doing well and fighting like a champ. Lucas is at 3lbs. 4 oz.
Sebastian is doing great! He has reached full feeds now at 33ml and will increase with his weight. The nurses think he’s ready to be put to breast. Not for feeding but to start getting familiar with the area. Haha. So we’ll see how that goes tomorrow! Mami and daddy got to watch their first bath time today with Sebastian (Lucas got his yesterday) and he did great. He seemed to love the warm tub. I”m intimidated for when its finally my turn to bathe him since he’s so small and slippery but I’m sure with practice it will come easily. Chris didn’t seem intimidated at all and is looking forward to his first chance to give them a bathe.
As for us….we’ve been busy. Still not quite into a routine but figuring one out slowly. Also, we were able to sublet our apartment for May 1st. Yay! So that’s no longer a worry. Our new apartment is coming along. We’ve started getting the boys room ready, a little nesting never hurt anyone! And new family and friends have come to meet the boys which has been extremely important to us! All in all the Lowe’s are doing great!
Auntie Kim came on her birthday to meet the boys for the 1st time. I can’t believe it has almost been a month since they’ve been born and she’s getting to finally meet them! Cousin Harleigh also got to meet the boys too! She couldn’t believe how small they were. She mentioned they don’t look that small in the pictures.
This was the second haircut Lucas got. Just terrible.
Your nurse mentioned you two being pooping machines. Haha! Healthy digestive systems runs in the family.
Sebastian’s PKU follow up screening came back negative. Yay! And his central line was taken out on the 10th. On the 11th, they took him off the high flow which he was on for a couple of days just to help his breathing while they increased his feeds.
Lucas got another haircut so that they could put an IV in his noggin. I keep telling him Ill tape the hair back when no one is looking. Haha. I think Im having a harder time with his haircut than him. He’s fighting another infection. They think it’s from his central line. So they’re thinking they’ll take out the central line and give him his antibiotics through the IV. Lucas continues to be on breathing support. He’s been working so hard fighting the infection that he needs some assitance with his breathing.
On the 12th, both boys have kept gaining. Lucas is at 1320 grams (2lbs. 15 ounces) and Sebastian is at 1630 grams (3lbs. 10 ounces)!
I was playing around with some shots of Lucas in his incubator and discovered an interloper lurking in the background.
Thankfully, yesterday we had 10 wonderful friends help us move into our new apartment. It only took 3 hours. So that’s one less thing to think about. We are still hoping to sublease our old apartment soon, so keep your fingers crossed!
The boys are doing great! They are both gaining weight steadily! Both have been increasing their feeds by 1ml every 24 hours. So right now they eat 6ml every 2 hours for 24 hours when they increase to 7ml. Yay! Both have been having some difficulties breathing but are completely off any oxygen assistance. Sebastian has had an episode of apnea 2 days ago but recovered nicely and has been having respiratory dips here and there. They will increase his caffeine to adjust to his new weight. The nurses say that respiratory dips are more common after a feeding since they now have to focus on their digestion, their respiration takes a back seat and usually will cause some dips in their stats. Both have remained off any assistance!
They are just absolutely the cutest things in the world but of course Im biased. I think they have the Gonzalez eyes. I can’t stop thinking they look like Tia Elisa did as a baby. Papi, tell me if Im wrong….?
