First week of life....update

This is a very detailed description of what we have learned about the babies since their arrival 1 week ago.

Robbie....Had a brain ultrasound that we were present for and his main difficulty as a micro-preemie is a brain bleed. This is something that will be resolved but sooner rather than later is the goal or he may face lifelong problems on left side of body such as muscle difficulty or learning difficulty that he could need physical therapy or other specialized needs. Bleed is on right side, grade 3, not the best but not the worst. Blood pressure stabilized today which means he was weened off dopamine. Using only 25 percent ventilator to help with breathing which is great....breathing 75 percent on own. Had heart Echo which shows his heart murmur is not causing major problems right now but must resolve or he will need surgery. All preemies have the same heart murmur, it can be heard through the stethoscope, and there are various ways to resolve it but Robbie cannot have the meds because of his brain bleed so he may go straight to the surgery option but not quite yet due to his young age. Robbie loves colostrum care (breast milk) and eats off a q-tip like it's a steak dinner. He's not technically eating it but getting his body ready for eating with his taste buds and lining the stomach. There was one pharmacy error and he received too much sodium in his IV bag, but it was caught early in his labs and doesn't seem to have affected him in any noticeable way. Robbie will receive caffeine in the next few days to help stimulate some of his organs and keep him from falling into too deep of a sleep. He has had 2 blood transfusions this week and did much better afterwards, blood type B+ (Be positive! Like dads blood type.) Weight is 610 gms and is proud to be growing bigger than his sister. No vocal chords yet due to breathing tubes so doesn't make a peep.

Sleeps with his leg over the pillow, Pete says he's practicing his pitching. He is considered in a more critical state than his sister and has a 1 to 1 nursing staff 24/7. He has dark skin and dark hair like dad.   

Inspiration: met a woman tonight who's 24 week delivery baby boy had 2 bleeds, one on each side of brain, grade 4, and he is now 6 years old and after a surgery to help his walking, shows minimal signs of ever having any brain bleeding.

Harper....Main difficulty of her micro-preemie status is her heart murmur and it must resolve from her meds. If not she will have one more round of meds before trying the surgery. Her blood pressure is stable, no meds. No brain problems showing on ultrasound. Breathing is good and will likely go off ventilator soon. Her delivery doc told me she came out of womb trying to breathe on her own so hard, they were tempted to let her try for a minute. She seems to be trying to open her eyes and may do so soon. Loves colostrum care times of day, which is when she gets her little nibble of breast milk from a q-tip. Not technically eating yet but can taste it and it coats the stomach and starts to get her gut ready. Weighs 586 gms which is about 1 lb 5.5 oz. No vocal chords yet but is next to a loud baby so she knows what to do when she's ready. 1 blood transfusion within first 2 days of life, did well. Blood type O+. Everybody comments about her strong, sophisticated name. Everybody says she's going to be running a board room someday. Nurses adore her. She has golden hair and a precious face.  Female preemies tend to do better than males in the early stages of development outside the womb.

Mom and dad update.....Pete and his mom and I are staying at Ronald McDonald House and its very nice and close to St. Joes so we go back and forth in a snap. I have been spending my days helping with feeding the colostrum (my favorite part), washing baby bodies, changing diapers the size of monopoly money, and taking temps. Keeping busy and feeling I can be helpful and participatory is easier and much less emotional. Pete's birthday is today and he's pretending to love the pants I ran into target and bought him during a 5 minute break. He's been incredible. Staying positive and cheerful all day, thinks his kids are perfect and is thrilled to be a dad, the best dad we all knew he would always be. The babies are so strong we must stay strong for them, so we just do. We will start reading to them daily this week. They seem to be soothed by our voices and hands.

Baby Diaper

We are staying at the Ronald McDonald House to be near the hospital

It's been an interesting place to stay....what a beautiful organization