Naomi and Evan had a fourth month checkup at the doctor on Monday. Poor little things, they had no idea going in that this particular visit was immunization time. I guess in order to get it over with a little quicker, the nurse actually brought in a helper and on the count of three both nurses hit a leg of one baby with one of the immunization shots. Needless to say, this didn't go over well. Erin described it as something akin to a grenade, "You could just see it in their faces. They would get the shot, then a huge wide-eyed expression, then nothing but screams."
Other than immunization trauma everything went well. Naomi weighed 13 lbs. 1 oz. and Evan was 11 lbs. even, maintaining his two pound disadvantage. Naomi's weight has actually pulled her up into the middle of the pack in the magic children's growth chart that all doctors have showing national percentiles of growth. Evan, on the other hand, is maintaining his "1%" status. The good thing is that both are tracking well to the curve, and maybe are even faster, so there aren't any concerns about their growth.
Probably the biggest change since the last time I posted is we now have full-blown smiling from both babies. To all you new parents out there not yet to this stage, I can only say hang in there. It really is a pretty dramatic difference just in our mental state, being able to interact with them and actually get a response if they like it. It's just a little easier to take when Evan is refusing to drink from the bottle, but laughing at you while you're scowling at him.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Monday, April 02, 2007
New Baby Photos (Described)
The local camera shop in Lexington rents studio lights for the weekend, and since light kits tend to be pretty darn expensive, this seemed like a fun way to experiment with some "real" lights.
All in all it was definitely a good experience. There's a pretty large learning curve with using light that bright (at least there was for me). The rental kit came with three lights but I only ever used two at most for the kids, sometimes even just one. My rickety home-made backdrops filled that role once again, with the addition of a king size white sheet that desperately needed ironing. The lights were strobes with modeling lights, but taking the light that emanated from the modeling lights and conveying that into what showed up on the camera was a pretty big jump. Thank goodness for digital, there's no way I could have done anything otherwise. My main method of getting the right exposure was just to pick an arbitrary starting point and watching the little view-finder until it looked about right.
Evan and Naomi are both doing well. Naomi's turning into quite the little chunk, she's up over 12 pounds now and happily drinking the bottles we give her. Evan's about two pounds behind her, about to crack the 10 pound mark and still being a squeaker when he drinks his bottle. The best news though is that both have started to interactively smile back at us, an extremely positive breakthrough that I don't think you could explain to anyone who wasn't already a parent. They're definitely very aware of their environment and love watching their mobile go round and round or just kicking back and watching the fan turn. Naomi is our lazy baby; she typically falls asleep shortly after eating and stays pretty conked until the next feeding time. Evan, on the other hand, well, Evan's not real big on sleep during the day. He'd much rather lie awake, or wave his arms, or look at the mobile, or suck on his pacifier, or really do just about anything else BESIDES go to sleep. Well, that is until about 30 minutes before it's time to eat again. Then he's out like a light. Figures.
In addition to the seven pictures in the slide-show I posted, there are a bunch more in the main Photobucket site. I tried not to be as picky as I normally am and just get some posted; let me know what you think!
All in all it was definitely a good experience. There's a pretty large learning curve with using light that bright (at least there was for me). The rental kit came with three lights but I only ever used two at most for the kids, sometimes even just one. My rickety home-made backdrops filled that role once again, with the addition of a king size white sheet that desperately needed ironing. The lights were strobes with modeling lights, but taking the light that emanated from the modeling lights and conveying that into what showed up on the camera was a pretty big jump. Thank goodness for digital, there's no way I could have done anything otherwise. My main method of getting the right exposure was just to pick an arbitrary starting point and watching the little view-finder until it looked about right.
Evan and Naomi are both doing well. Naomi's turning into quite the little chunk, she's up over 12 pounds now and happily drinking the bottles we give her. Evan's about two pounds behind her, about to crack the 10 pound mark and still being a squeaker when he drinks his bottle. The best news though is that both have started to interactively smile back at us, an extremely positive breakthrough that I don't think you could explain to anyone who wasn't already a parent. They're definitely very aware of their environment and love watching their mobile go round and round or just kicking back and watching the fan turn. Naomi is our lazy baby; she typically falls asleep shortly after eating and stays pretty conked until the next feeding time. Evan, on the other hand, well, Evan's not real big on sleep during the day. He'd much rather lie awake, or wave his arms, or look at the mobile, or suck on his pacifier, or really do just about anything else BESIDES go to sleep. Well, that is until about 30 minutes before it's time to eat again. Then he's out like a light. Figures.
In addition to the seven pictures in the slide-show I posted, there are a bunch more in the main Photobucket site. I tried not to be as picky as I normally am and just get some posted; let me know what you think!
New Baby Photos
To stop the slide show, just hover over the picture and you'll see three buttons, back, stop, and forward.
Monday, March 19, 2007
Two Steps Forward..
(Disclaimer: This blog entry contains some yucky descriptions of baby poopy. You've been warned.)
We had our first non-scheduled doctor visit with Naomi two weeks ago last Monday. Over the weekend, she started having some issues with her digestive system. She went from a bowel movement (BM, the common euphemism for "pooped" from the hospital) maybe once a day or so to a dirty diaper before every single feeding, plus typically one while she was being fed. Tack on to this that the, shall we say, substance of these BMs changed as well. The color changed to a more mucousy green, then what really panicked us were little specks of red mixed in. Well, blood in the poopy is one of those, "Call the doctor now" signals that they tell new parents, so in she went on Monday morning.
The doctor poked and prodded her a bit, and diagnosed her with an inflamed colon caused by cow milk protein sensitivity (not the same as lactose intolerance). Hmm, that doesn't sound good. She was placed on this special formula which has broken down these proteins so they're easier to digest. As a bonus, Erin is now also off all milk products as well so that Naomi can continue to get breast milk. After about 36 hours her condition cleared right up and she's been cruising right along since then.
There's two things that are really a drag about this new formula, though: first, it smells bad. Not necessarily iron-infused poopy diaper bad, but still pretty nose-turning. And it's a bizarre smell, something along the lines of "burnt brussel sprouts", a strange vegetably odor that you are not expecting from this white liquid. The other bummer: it's the most expensive formula (of course), by far. We were already on expensive formula with the Enfamil Enfacare for premature infants at $13 for 12.8 ounces. This new stuff (Similac Alimentum): $25 for 16 oz. Ouch.
On more pleasant news, there has been one unconfirmed sighting of a smile on Evan's face playing in his blue bouncy chair. We're waiting for follow-up news reports but clearly this is an exciting development. If any photo- or video-graphic evidence emerges it will certainly be reported here.
We had our first non-scheduled doctor visit with Naomi two weeks ago last Monday. Over the weekend, she started having some issues with her digestive system. She went from a bowel movement (BM, the common euphemism for "pooped" from the hospital) maybe once a day or so to a dirty diaper before every single feeding, plus typically one while she was being fed. Tack on to this that the, shall we say, substance of these BMs changed as well. The color changed to a more mucousy green, then what really panicked us were little specks of red mixed in. Well, blood in the poopy is one of those, "Call the doctor now" signals that they tell new parents, so in she went on Monday morning.
The doctor poked and prodded her a bit, and diagnosed her with an inflamed colon caused by cow milk protein sensitivity (not the same as lactose intolerance). Hmm, that doesn't sound good. She was placed on this special formula which has broken down these proteins so they're easier to digest. As a bonus, Erin is now also off all milk products as well so that Naomi can continue to get breast milk. After about 36 hours her condition cleared right up and she's been cruising right along since then.
There's two things that are really a drag about this new formula, though: first, it smells bad. Not necessarily iron-infused poopy diaper bad, but still pretty nose-turning. And it's a bizarre smell, something along the lines of "burnt brussel sprouts", a strange vegetably odor that you are not expecting from this white liquid. The other bummer: it's the most expensive formula (of course), by far. We were already on expensive formula with the Enfamil Enfacare for premature infants at $13 for 12.8 ounces. This new stuff (Similac Alimentum): $25 for 16 oz. Ouch.
On more pleasant news, there has been one unconfirmed sighting of a smile on Evan's face playing in his blue bouncy chair. We're waiting for follow-up news reports but clearly this is an exciting development. If any photo- or video-graphic evidence emerges it will certainly be reported here.
Saturday, March 03, 2007
Cruisin' Right along
Everything is well here in double trouble land. The twins had a doctor appointment earlier this week, nothing major, just some little issues we wanted to clear up. While we were there we got an update on their weight and Naomi is up to 9 lbs. 13 oz. (!), and Evan is 8 lbs. 3 oz. So we almost have a 10 pound baby!
They're both slowly learning how to do their yoga positions, particularly the Downward Dog and the Cobra. We're supposed to give them tummy time when they're awake and alert, but not panicked or hungry, which seems like it's a grand total of about five minutes every feeding period. Oh, did I mention if we put them on their tummies after they eat there's about a 90 percent chance they'll spit up? So that's out too. Sometimes, we just have to put Naomi or Evan on their tummies when they're awake AND hungry, which ends up with an angry baby. This has the ironic effect, though, of really getting them up in the air! So, it's not a totally bad proposition.
In other news, I've always enjoyed photography but shooting people has never been my strong suit. My previous vacation photos were all about the scenery, but never had anyone actually IN the photo. In the last few years I've started to really pay more attention to photographs of people and what makes some photos seem so compelling and full of emotion. Hopefully I can capture some of that with Naomi and Evan.
In that regards, I've been slowly constructing a poor man's version of a studio. I constructed a frame out of PVC pipe and went to a local fabric store and bought some cloth. The basement project is at a point where the room is basically finished (carpeted, doors are up) but there's no furniture at all in the entire room, so I could use it to spread out and set my area. I've had one session with Naomi and some of the pictures came out pretty good. My biggest problem/challenge right now is that I don't have any real studio lights, so my choices are limited to the flash on the camera and the overhead lights. I'll keep working on it, though, I'm liking where this is headed.
I've put up a new set of pictures on the Photobucket site (http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n171/benjamingold/Twins/), look for the pictures named "babies_03_04_07_xx.jpg". They are mostly of Naomi, who like I said was my first test subject, but there's a couple impromptu shots of Evan in there that I think will be keepers.
They're both slowly learning how to do their yoga positions, particularly the Downward Dog and the Cobra. We're supposed to give them tummy time when they're awake and alert, but not panicked or hungry, which seems like it's a grand total of about five minutes every feeding period. Oh, did I mention if we put them on their tummies after they eat there's about a 90 percent chance they'll spit up? So that's out too. Sometimes, we just have to put Naomi or Evan on their tummies when they're awake AND hungry, which ends up with an angry baby. This has the ironic effect, though, of really getting them up in the air! So, it's not a totally bad proposition.
In other news, I've always enjoyed photography but shooting people has never been my strong suit. My previous vacation photos were all about the scenery, but never had anyone actually IN the photo. In the last few years I've started to really pay more attention to photographs of people and what makes some photos seem so compelling and full of emotion. Hopefully I can capture some of that with Naomi and Evan.
In that regards, I've been slowly constructing a poor man's version of a studio. I constructed a frame out of PVC pipe and went to a local fabric store and bought some cloth. The basement project is at a point where the room is basically finished (carpeted, doors are up) but there's no furniture at all in the entire room, so I could use it to spread out and set my area. I've had one session with Naomi and some of the pictures came out pretty good. My biggest problem/challenge right now is that I don't have any real studio lights, so my choices are limited to the flash on the camera and the overhead lights. I'll keep working on it, though, I'm liking where this is headed.
I've put up a new set of pictures on the Photobucket site (http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n171/benjamingold/Twins/), look for the pictures named "babies_03_04_07_xx.jpg". They are mostly of Naomi, who like I said was my first test subject, but there's a couple impromptu shots of Evan in there that I think will be keepers.
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Two Months Old
Naomi and Evan had their two month old doctor's appointment last Wednesday. Everything went very well, and I guess our questions weren't too odd-ball since the doctor didn't laugh at us too much. Naomi weighed 8 lbs. 5 oz. and Evan is holding his own as well at 7 lbs. 5 oz. An assortment of our random questions:
1) Is his head supposed to be that shape?
2) Is her ankle at that angle normal?
3) How often are they supposed to poop again?
The doctor assured us, everything was perfectly normal. The biggest trauma was when they had to get their immunizations. As my sister Alea put it (she went with Erin to the doctor), it hurt so much they couldn't scream at first! Their mouths twisted into a grimace, then it was just a timebomb.."3, 2, 1...WHAAA, WHAAA". But everything went well, they got some baby Tylenol for a day or so, and now we're back in rhythm.
Otherwise, we're well into the grind now. Everybody's changed and fed every three hours, though we're experimenting with letting them sleep a little longer late at night. There's a feeding at midnight, then they'll sleep for around four hours before one of them (typically Naomi) wakes up and is ready to eat.
Since everything is pretty stable right now (and I don't imagine anyone wants to read in intricate detail descriptions of dirty diapers), my plan is to post every two weeks, probably over the weekend. So check back every couple of weeks for an update on the wee little ones!
1) Is his head supposed to be that shape?
2) Is her ankle at that angle normal?
3) How often are they supposed to poop again?
The doctor assured us, everything was perfectly normal. The biggest trauma was when they had to get their immunizations. As my sister Alea put it (she went with Erin to the doctor), it hurt so much they couldn't scream at first! Their mouths twisted into a grimace, then it was just a timebomb.."3, 2, 1...WHAAA, WHAAA". But everything went well, they got some baby Tylenol for a day or so, and now we're back in rhythm.
Otherwise, we're well into the grind now. Everybody's changed and fed every three hours, though we're experimenting with letting them sleep a little longer late at night. There's a feeding at midnight, then they'll sleep for around four hours before one of them (typically Naomi) wakes up and is ready to eat.
Since everything is pretty stable right now (and I don't imagine anyone wants to read in intricate detail descriptions of dirty diapers), my plan is to post every two weeks, probably over the weekend. So check back every couple of weeks for an update on the wee little ones!
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Two Weeks Already?!
I can't believe it's been two weeks since I've posted to this blog, they're going to kick me out of the blogosphere. Needless to say, Erin and I are well into the grind of two babies.
A couple of things have transpired to keep me from posting. Certainly sleep deprivation has been a part of it. I will be in the shower or driving home from work and come up with a great topic to write on, only to have the thought completely escape me by the time I get to pad and paper. I feel like Leonard from Memento, zero short-term memory. This is accompanied by the fact that I feel like my .. you know, words are down to nothing when I'm tired.
The second part is that I've found that we now have two newborns. This is actually an important distinction! Before, we had two preemies. Preemies in one way are great: they sleep ALL the time. You wake them up to feed them, then they immediately go back to sleep and stay asleep until the next feeding. Newborns, on the other hand, well, newborns don't stay asleep. They might go to sleep right away. They might go to sleep after an hour. They might stay away the entire time. Lest you're unaware, our awake babies are very rarely not needy babies. Being awake probably means they don't want to be swaddled, they probably want to be held, they might be hungry..well, you get the picture.
I've put a few new pictures up on photobucket, you can get to them here. Here's a quick taste:
A couple of things have transpired to keep me from posting. Certainly sleep deprivation has been a part of it. I will be in the shower or driving home from work and come up with a great topic to write on, only to have the thought completely escape me by the time I get to pad and paper. I feel like Leonard from Memento, zero short-term memory. This is accompanied by the fact that I feel like my .. you know, words are down to nothing when I'm tired.
The second part is that I've found that we now have two newborns. This is actually an important distinction! Before, we had two preemies. Preemies in one way are great: they sleep ALL the time. You wake them up to feed them, then they immediately go back to sleep and stay asleep until the next feeding. Newborns, on the other hand, well, newborns don't stay asleep. They might go to sleep right away. They might go to sleep after an hour. They might stay away the entire time. Lest you're unaware, our awake babies are very rarely not needy babies. Being awake probably means they don't want to be swaddled, they probably want to be held, they might be hungry..well, you get the picture.
I've put a few new pictures up on photobucket, you can get to them here. Here's a quick taste:
Friday, January 26, 2007
Quick Status Update
We're well into the grind of caring for two newborn babies and Erin and I seem to have found a pretty good comfort level for taking care of them. Baths are every third day (which means this is an off day, yaay!) and they get fed every third hour on the "3s" (3, 6, 9, 12). Evan showed up a little anemic at the last blood check before being released from the hospital, so he also gets a little dose of ferrous sulfate (read: iron) at noon each day. It makes him smell a little rusty but he doesn't seem to mind to much.
They had their first pediatrician visit and everything went fine. I think it was probably more harrowing for Erin and I since it was our first sojourn anywhere with both babies. Naomi weighed 6 lbs. 5 oz. and Evan weighed 5 lbs. even, so they're both gaining weight pretty equally (he started out a pound smaller than her and has pretty much stayed there). We just remembered this morning that we have a food scale that reads up to 7 pounds in ounce increments so we're hopeful we can get a few more weight readings before the next doctor visit.
I've taken a few more pictures in the past week, so if I get a chance to cut through the cloud of confusion from lack of sleep I'll try to get the processed and posted. If not, everyone have a good weekend!
They had their first pediatrician visit and everything went fine. I think it was probably more harrowing for Erin and I since it was our first sojourn anywhere with both babies. Naomi weighed 6 lbs. 5 oz. and Evan weighed 5 lbs. even, so they're both gaining weight pretty equally (he started out a pound smaller than her and has pretty much stayed there). We just remembered this morning that we have a food scale that reads up to 7 pounds in ounce increments so we're hopeful we can get a few more weight readings before the next doctor visit.
I've taken a few more pictures in the past week, so if I get a chance to cut through the cloud of confusion from lack of sleep I'll try to get the processed and posted. If not, everyone have a good weekend!
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Diapers Diapers Everywhere.
(quick note: to view a larger version of any of the pictures in this blog just click on them)
I'm scared. Scared because I've been lied to by all those parents who said, "The newborn diapers are great, they don't smell at all." Because, here's the thing, they do smell. They smell bad. Yankee Candle is not going to introduce a new scented smell next week, "Newborn Diaper". But I don't think all these parents have misled me deliberately. They truly have in their minds that newborn diapers smelled okay when little Junior was in them. Which can only lead me to one conclusion: post-newborn diapers must smell REALLY REALLY bad. Even now when we hit a poopy diaper (and you'd better believe we're tracking that, um, poop) it's really more about cleaning up the mess than enduring the smell. I have a feeling once the dynamic duo start eating Cheerios we're in for quite the whallop.
In other news, people want pictures. I am happy to oblige as I can assure you these two are most willing subjects. Well, maybe not this one:
But let me assure you, a shot like that doesn't make itself! Oh no! Here's a few shots of my talented assistant helping to maintain the pose:
Some people have asked, "How do the babies stay on their wedges?" The answer: velcro and straps.
There are about 15 new pictures put up on Photobucket, I won't link to all of them here, you can get to the album by following this link. Photobucket arranges the pictures so that the newest ones are first, so they should be easy to find. If you like any of the new pictures, post a comment and let me know which one!
I'm scared. Scared because I've been lied to by all those parents who said, "The newborn diapers are great, they don't smell at all." Because, here's the thing, they do smell. They smell bad. Yankee Candle is not going to introduce a new scented smell next week, "Newborn Diaper". But I don't think all these parents have misled me deliberately. They truly have in their minds that newborn diapers smelled okay when little Junior was in them. Which can only lead me to one conclusion: post-newborn diapers must smell REALLY REALLY bad. Even now when we hit a poopy diaper (and you'd better believe we're tracking that, um, poop) it's really more about cleaning up the mess than enduring the smell. I have a feeling once the dynamic duo start eating Cheerios we're in for quite the whallop.
In other news, people want pictures. I am happy to oblige as I can assure you these two are most willing subjects. Well, maybe not this one:
But let me assure you, a shot like that doesn't make itself! Oh no! Here's a few shots of my talented assistant helping to maintain the pose:
Some people have asked, "How do the babies stay on their wedges?" The answer: velcro and straps.
There are about 15 new pictures put up on Photobucket, I won't link to all of them here, you can get to the album by following this link. Photobucket arranges the pictures so that the newest ones are first, so they should be easy to find. If you like any of the new pictures, post a comment and let me know which one!
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
2 Babies = 0 Sleep
Great news on the baby front, Evan did get released so we now have the whole family under one roof. I think there will probably be nights where we yearn for the days when we could just visit them in the hospital a couple of times a day and then head home, but for now it's much better to be home.
I've decided that exhaustion is something like a five o'clock shadow. You don't really notice until your face is scraggly and itching. For all those prospective parents out there who want to know what its like, here's my 5-step plan to re-create having a newborn in the house: first, don't even think that one night will cut it. That first night that Naomi was home I fell asleep for an hour around 10, then got up and STAYED awake until 6 a.m., waking Erin just to pump and then letting her go back to bed. That worked great, the first night. Then the second night rolled around. Then Evan came home. And it's not even that these are fussy babies; they are on a clear schedule and really stick to it very well. The trick is that schedule dictates that the twins are to be fed every three hours; I can assure you they are most impatient if that deadline is not reached. So, step two is every three hours, get up. Do some trivial tasks (because there's really not anything all that difficult in baby-care: change the diaper, feed the bottle, lay back down). After an hour, lay back down for two hours, then get up, rinse, and repeat. Naomi and Evan are on the 3-6-9-12 schedule so at each of those hours we have to get up.
Other than the sudden departure of regular circadian rhythms all is well. We seem to be keeping them content and they are both feeding well. Our first appointment with the pediatrician is tomorrow, which will also be the first time we will attempt to leave the house with both in tow. It should be exciting.
I'm off to catch a few (as in two) hours of sleep, so I'll leave you with a picture of the dynamic duo, asleep on their home wedges:
I've decided that exhaustion is something like a five o'clock shadow. You don't really notice until your face is scraggly and itching. For all those prospective parents out there who want to know what its like, here's my 5-step plan to re-create having a newborn in the house: first, don't even think that one night will cut it. That first night that Naomi was home I fell asleep for an hour around 10, then got up and STAYED awake until 6 a.m., waking Erin just to pump and then letting her go back to bed. That worked great, the first night. Then the second night rolled around. Then Evan came home. And it's not even that these are fussy babies; they are on a clear schedule and really stick to it very well. The trick is that schedule dictates that the twins are to be fed every three hours; I can assure you they are most impatient if that deadline is not reached. So, step two is every three hours, get up. Do some trivial tasks (because there's really not anything all that difficult in baby-care: change the diaper, feed the bottle, lay back down). After an hour, lay back down for two hours, then get up, rinse, and repeat. Naomi and Evan are on the 3-6-9-12 schedule so at each of those hours we have to get up.
Other than the sudden departure of regular circadian rhythms all is well. We seem to be keeping them content and they are both feeding well. Our first appointment with the pediatrician is tomorrow, which will also be the first time we will attempt to leave the house with both in tow. It should be exciting.
I'm off to catch a few (as in two) hours of sleep, so I'll leave you with a picture of the dynamic duo, asleep on their home wedges:
Sunday, January 14, 2007
One down, One to go!
Naomi has left the hospital! I repeat, Naomi has left the hospital! We got the call today a little after noon, and she made it home around 3:00 PM. All her vital signs had been very good since they put her on the wedge and she's been feeding very well, so they sent her home to us today. So far so good, her schedule right now is on the 3s (3/6/9/12), so we changed her diaper and fed her as soon as we arrived. As I write this she's sleeping soundly, with an occasional coo over the baby monitor.
I guess our adventure has officially started now, wish us luck!
I guess our adventure has officially started now, wish us luck!
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Home Soon?
We're picking up momentum on Naomi and Evan leaving the hospital and coming home with us. It turns out, they just needed to sleep like they were in Mom for a while: upright. The doctors have decided that their troubles were both based on reflux, so Naomi and Evan are both sleeping on these pillows that keep them lying at a 45 degree angle. It's pretty funny, like they're on a mountain climbing expedition, but they don't seem to mind. Given Naomi's position in the womb for so long, she probably wouldn't mind being hung upside down!
They're both growing well, the last time I checked Naomi weighed 5 lbs. 8 oz. and Evan was 4 lbs. 5 oz., so eating isn't a problem with these two. The current plan at the hospital is for Naomi to come home on the 14th and for Evan to follow a day later on the 15th. They've both looked very good on the monitors for the last three days so Erin and I are being cautiously optimistic.
Here's Evan on his angled pillow:
And here's Naomi on hers:
They're both growing well, the last time I checked Naomi weighed 5 lbs. 8 oz. and Evan was 4 lbs. 5 oz., so eating isn't a problem with these two. The current plan at the hospital is for Naomi to come home on the 14th and for Evan to follow a day later on the 15th. They've both looked very good on the monitors for the last three days so Erin and I are being cautiously optimistic.
Here's Evan on his angled pillow:
And here's Naomi on hers:
Friday, January 05, 2007
One Step Forward, One Step Back
We continue to progress towards getting Naomi and Evan home, but there are some small problems that keep cropping up that are keeping them in the hospital.
Naomi is growing very well and at her last weigh-in was 5 lbs. 2 oz., a rather dramatic increase of 8 oz. over her original birth weight (plus the initial drop after birth). So on that front she's making good progress. In fact, I think the doctors were just about ready to send her home yesterday, but I guess the news sent her into a bit of a panic. She started to show the similar signs of her apnea again yesterday and her oxygen saturation levels kept dropping, so she's now back on a little bit of oxygen (and probably guaranteed another week in the NICU).
Evan is also progressing well, he's up to 3 lbs. 13 oz., a gain of 5 oz. over his birth weight. He's gotten much better at taking a full bottle too, and so they took out his NG tube (the feeding tube) yesterday. His biggest issue? Occasional drops in his heart rate (the doctors had a very large word that I don't think I could repeat orally much less attempt to write down), about once a day. The hospital likes for the baby to go seven days without one of these events, and he's not making it 24 hours. So, he's also looking at least another week.
Both of the problems they are having are very common in preemies, so we're not concerned about their health at all. It's just a matter of giving them enough time to grow up.
Everyone have a good weekend!
Naomi is growing very well and at her last weigh-in was 5 lbs. 2 oz., a rather dramatic increase of 8 oz. over her original birth weight (plus the initial drop after birth). So on that front she's making good progress. In fact, I think the doctors were just about ready to send her home yesterday, but I guess the news sent her into a bit of a panic. She started to show the similar signs of her apnea again yesterday and her oxygen saturation levels kept dropping, so she's now back on a little bit of oxygen (and probably guaranteed another week in the NICU).
Evan is also progressing well, he's up to 3 lbs. 13 oz., a gain of 5 oz. over his birth weight. He's gotten much better at taking a full bottle too, and so they took out his NG tube (the feeding tube) yesterday. His biggest issue? Occasional drops in his heart rate (the doctors had a very large word that I don't think I could repeat orally much less attempt to write down), about once a day. The hospital likes for the baby to go seven days without one of these events, and he's not making it 24 hours. So, he's also looking at least another week.
Both of the problems they are having are very common in preemies, so we're not concerned about their health at all. It's just a matter of giving them enough time to grow up.
Everyone have a good weekend!
Monday, January 01, 2007
Happy New Year!
Welcome to 2007 everyone! I know we are looking forward to the new year with great anticipation and maybe just a bit of trepidation as well. If I felt like we were hovering on a cliff when Erin was pregnant, well, I think we're headed rapidly downward now.
Both babies are still doing very well and continuing their progress towards being released from the hospital. They were moved out of their isolettes (the incubator-like boxes they were in) and into an open crib together today, so that was an exciting development. They are also both off their IVs so we are able to move around the NICU area freely with them when we visit. In fact, the only cords they now have are the little wires stuck on them that measure heartrate and respiratory rate, and those will be on there until they are released. They are also back up to their birth weights and have even surpassed them, so they should start growing well in the next few days/weeks.
Naomi is pretty much over her early set of problems and is really making strides developmentally every day. Her early signs of apnea are gone, and she's now eating more than her little brother. Naomi's definitely a better eater than Evan and shows pretty vigorous sucking when she gets her bottle. In fact, the nurses and doctors felt she was doing well enough eating that they've removed her NG tube (the tube running from her nose down to her stomach).
Evan's also doing well, though his size is allowing big sis to pull ahead of him. He has a very preemie habit in that he will fall asleep very quickly after feeding begins, so the meal process can be quite drawn out with him. Because of that, he still has his NG tube and will until he better gets the hang of finishing the whole bottle.
I took a few more pictures yesterday and today, so if you go back to the photobucket site you can see the new ones. Here's probably my favorite:
Both babies are still doing very well and continuing their progress towards being released from the hospital. They were moved out of their isolettes (the incubator-like boxes they were in) and into an open crib together today, so that was an exciting development. They are also both off their IVs so we are able to move around the NICU area freely with them when we visit. In fact, the only cords they now have are the little wires stuck on them that measure heartrate and respiratory rate, and those will be on there until they are released. They are also back up to their birth weights and have even surpassed them, so they should start growing well in the next few days/weeks.
Naomi is pretty much over her early set of problems and is really making strides developmentally every day. Her early signs of apnea are gone, and she's now eating more than her little brother. Naomi's definitely a better eater than Evan and shows pretty vigorous sucking when she gets her bottle. In fact, the nurses and doctors felt she was doing well enough eating that they've removed her NG tube (the tube running from her nose down to her stomach).
Evan's also doing well, though his size is allowing big sis to pull ahead of him. He has a very preemie habit in that he will fall asleep very quickly after feeding begins, so the meal process can be quite drawn out with him. Because of that, he still has his NG tube and will until he better gets the hang of finishing the whole bottle.
I took a few more pictures yesterday and today, so if you go back to the photobucket site you can see the new ones. Here's probably my favorite:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)