Good Morning! Sorry about the missed post yesterday. I had my six week post-partum check at 1 pm and it seems that whenever we try to actually leave the house we run ridiculously late!
My appointment went well. They were very happy to see Leah and Micah and one of the nurses even disappeared with Micah for a while - to show him off! I was given a clean bill of health and can resume normal activities as my body allows. It will take some time to be back to normal especially with the extended bed rest I was on (thankfully not strict bed rest or I would be really a mess now!), but I am making progress. The shocking thing for me is that I am now back to my pre-pregnancy weight! Of course, my clothes still fit badly since everything is about three inches lower now! Ah the joys of pregnancy, especially multiple pregnancy. Oh well, it's not like I was wearin' bikinis before this.
After my appointment, we went to see Golda but the entire unit was closed. They were doing a surgical procedure in one of the rooms and so there were no visitors allowed for about two hours! That is the worst part of Golda being in a NICU - being barred from seeing her during the short time we have allotted for a visit. We went home and fed the babies; it had been almost five hours between feeds for them and they were starting to really complain. They both gobbled down their bottles and fell asleep. Micah woke up about two hours later and screamed bloody murder. We realized after a bit that he was hungry (for those of you that heard Harry, Micah is learning the "hun-gee" cry too! really weird) and gave him two ounces. He ate it slowly but steadily and then fell back asleep. We put him in a rocker and ate dinner ourselves. Then he started crying again! It was time for the regular feed now so we decided to try giving him the full 3.5 oz. Well. That little piggie ate all of it making a grand total of 5.5 oz! This morning I gave in and filled a large bottle with 5.5 oz and he ate it all. Leah took 3.5 oz and almost seemed to be looking for more too. I can't believe how much they are eating now.
On that note, we have become a little worried about their eating habits over the last week. Both of them, but especially Leah, grunt and groan and squeak while eating. They turn their heads all over like they are trying to get away from the bottle and sometimes actually shove the bottle out of their mouths. But if you try to take it out they suck it back in and if they shove it out then they open their mouths right up for more (after burping). And if you lay them down after eating too soon hiccups will start inevitably and sometimes even while you are burping them. I posted about this on the triplet site and got four responses. One was "it's normal, they'll outgrow it" and the other three were "mine did the same until we got them zantac or prevacid for reflux". Grr. Just when we thought we had escaped that this time around. Oh well. We have an appointment with the pediatrician today at noon to discuss this.
Golda is doing really well. The antibiotics and Ilex are working their magic and her g-tube site is looking significantly better. They increased her feeds to 33 ml over an hour every three hours yesterday. She is finally gaining really nicely too - her weight yesterday was 1574 g (3 lbs. 7.52 oz.) and today is 1607 g (3 lbs. 8.68 oz.)! And I spoke to her new attending yesterday and was told that she will most likely be ready to transfer to St. Mary's or Blythedale on Monday. That was a surprise, but I called the liaison at St. Mary's to get everything rolling. She is going to let us know if a bed will be available - fingers crossed everyone! LIJ will let us wait until Friday for a bed without too much of a fight, but more than that might be an uphill battle, so, really, cross those fingers, toes, eyes, whatever you can!
Harry has his first class trip today. They are going to a farm for the usual fall activities and because of the need to wear clothes that can get dirty, he got to go to school in regular non-uniform clothes! He was quite pleased! And tomorrow they are allowed to wear their costumes to school for the parade (8:45 am in the school yard, weather permitting) and the carnival (starting at 9 am for school kids only). They will be trick or treating in the carnival I think. Harry's costume arrived yesterday - he is going to be a train engineer. The costume fits perfectly and he looks adorable in it. I will take lots of photos of him and post them tomorrow.
That's it here! I hope everyone is doing well and staying warm. Oh, and for those of you who got snow, digging out! I can't believe we are talking snow already!
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Day 41 Update
Good Evening! Sorry for the late posting, but this is literally the first chance I have gotten to write.
I went to visit Golda last night for the evening session (9 pm) and my mom came along. We found Golda in her new room at the end of the hall. She was resting quite comfortably and the nurse was about to do her vitals. While I was scrubbing, Mom and the nurse uncovered Golda and as she was waking up she pushed her Repogle right out! I haven't seen her actually get the whole thing out before, but I guess she has really built up her tongue trying to push it around! I jumped on the opportunity though to get some photos of her cute little face without anything in it. I have put them up at Picasa along with some other photos of the bris and random other stuff. The links are below.
Anyway, Golda was doing okay. We got to see her get her sponge bath and I changed her clothing. That wasn't nearly as easy as for Leah since Golda is still hooked up to many wires and tubes, but I managed. The nurse suctioned her and replaced the Repogle then I got to hold her. It was one of those really rare occasions that she was wide awake while I was there! Such pretty eyes she has! She was getting cranky waiting for her meal and then got really calm and happy when it started flowing. A really good sign was that she was hungrily sucking on her pacifier while waiting and during the feeding. Hopefully she will retain that reflex through the wait for her surgery and we won't have as many feeding issues afterwards.
The nurse told us that one of the doctors felt that Golda had an infection in her g-tube and had started her on antibiotics. This was, of course, after they had removed her broviac that morning so she had to have an iv started. Really poor foresight on their part and I wasn't too pleased, but really, what could I do at that point? I spoke to the resident in charge of her case today on the phone because I had some questions that couldn't be answered last night. Basically they feel she has an infection even though they haven't done a culture because her total white blood cell count is elevated, although her lymphocytes and neutrophils are not, and because she has a white discharge from the site that doesn't seem to be milk. She does not have a fever and hasn't exhibited any other signs of infection (like apnea) which is good and might indicate that they have caught it early. She has been on the antibiotic two days now and will remain on it for five to seven days. This should not interfere with any transfers to St. Mary's since it should be gone in a week and the transfer would not likely be before two weeks.
They have also changed from putting the Maalox on her stomach to using Ilex, a petrolatum-based paste that is made for this use (to protect her skin from stomach acid). Aside from all that, she weighs 1512 g (3 lbs. 5.33 oz.), about the same as the day before.
Leah and Micah are doing okay. They gave us some trouble last night. Micah seemed to be in some pain from his circumcision and was making a lot of noise causing Leah to wake up and become cranky. Thankfully today I was able to remove his dressing and that really made him feel better. I didn't have to do that for Harry - Jon took care of it because I couldn't bring myself to so this was the first time I saw it looking so raw :( Jon said that was how Harry's looked too so it should be fine. Poor little guy, I would cry too!
We are also thinking that Leah and Micah are showing signs of possible reflux. Like that wasn't expected. They grunt and groan and complain while eating and after. Burps are accompanied by the "icky face" and crying and lots of spit up. Even an hour after eating they are sometimes still burping up milk and they do better if we leave them sitting up after eating. Such fun! We are going to wait until Micah heals a bit more to make sure this isn't from that and then we will take them to the pediatrician.
I weighed them today and was shocked to find that Micah is now 6 lbs. 15 oz. and Leah is 5 lbs. 5 oz.! They are really packing it on, especially Micah! And they are both looking so much longer than they were. I can't believe how fast they are growing. I suppose some of their crankiness could be due to growing pains, too!
Harry was feeling much better today. His sniffles were almost completely gone, his voice was back to normal and he only coughed once or twice. The day off did him a lot of good and he was happy to get back to school today. And he even managed to make it through the day without getting any warnings / time outs!
That's about it for now. Here are links to the photos:
http://picasaweb.google.com/WindyNYC/BrisAndBabyNamingX2#
http://picasaweb.google.com/WindyNYC/BBBVisitToGolda#
http://picasaweb.google.com/WindyNYC/GoldaSCuteLittleFaceWithoutTubes#
I went to visit Golda last night for the evening session (9 pm) and my mom came along. We found Golda in her new room at the end of the hall. She was resting quite comfortably and the nurse was about to do her vitals. While I was scrubbing, Mom and the nurse uncovered Golda and as she was waking up she pushed her Repogle right out! I haven't seen her actually get the whole thing out before, but I guess she has really built up her tongue trying to push it around! I jumped on the opportunity though to get some photos of her cute little face without anything in it. I have put them up at Picasa along with some other photos of the bris and random other stuff. The links are below.
Anyway, Golda was doing okay. We got to see her get her sponge bath and I changed her clothing. That wasn't nearly as easy as for Leah since Golda is still hooked up to many wires and tubes, but I managed. The nurse suctioned her and replaced the Repogle then I got to hold her. It was one of those really rare occasions that she was wide awake while I was there! Such pretty eyes she has! She was getting cranky waiting for her meal and then got really calm and happy when it started flowing. A really good sign was that she was hungrily sucking on her pacifier while waiting and during the feeding. Hopefully she will retain that reflex through the wait for her surgery and we won't have as many feeding issues afterwards.
The nurse told us that one of the doctors felt that Golda had an infection in her g-tube and had started her on antibiotics. This was, of course, after they had removed her broviac that morning so she had to have an iv started. Really poor foresight on their part and I wasn't too pleased, but really, what could I do at that point? I spoke to the resident in charge of her case today on the phone because I had some questions that couldn't be answered last night. Basically they feel she has an infection even though they haven't done a culture because her total white blood cell count is elevated, although her lymphocytes and neutrophils are not, and because she has a white discharge from the site that doesn't seem to be milk. She does not have a fever and hasn't exhibited any other signs of infection (like apnea) which is good and might indicate that they have caught it early. She has been on the antibiotic two days now and will remain on it for five to seven days. This should not interfere with any transfers to St. Mary's since it should be gone in a week and the transfer would not likely be before two weeks.
They have also changed from putting the Maalox on her stomach to using Ilex, a petrolatum-based paste that is made for this use (to protect her skin from stomach acid). Aside from all that, she weighs 1512 g (3 lbs. 5.33 oz.), about the same as the day before.
Leah and Micah are doing okay. They gave us some trouble last night. Micah seemed to be in some pain from his circumcision and was making a lot of noise causing Leah to wake up and become cranky. Thankfully today I was able to remove his dressing and that really made him feel better. I didn't have to do that for Harry - Jon took care of it because I couldn't bring myself to so this was the first time I saw it looking so raw :( Jon said that was how Harry's looked too so it should be fine. Poor little guy, I would cry too!
We are also thinking that Leah and Micah are showing signs of possible reflux. Like that wasn't expected. They grunt and groan and complain while eating and after. Burps are accompanied by the "icky face" and crying and lots of spit up. Even an hour after eating they are sometimes still burping up milk and they do better if we leave them sitting up after eating. Such fun! We are going to wait until Micah heals a bit more to make sure this isn't from that and then we will take them to the pediatrician.
I weighed them today and was shocked to find that Micah is now 6 lbs. 15 oz. and Leah is 5 lbs. 5 oz.! They are really packing it on, especially Micah! And they are both looking so much longer than they were. I can't believe how fast they are growing. I suppose some of their crankiness could be due to growing pains, too!
Harry was feeling much better today. His sniffles were almost completely gone, his voice was back to normal and he only coughed once or twice. The day off did him a lot of good and he was happy to get back to school today. And he even managed to make it through the day without getting any warnings / time outs!
That's about it for now. Here are links to the photos:
http://picasaweb.google.com/WindyNYC/BrisAndBabyNamingX2#
http://picasaweb.google.com/WindyNYC/BBBVisitToGolda#
http://picasaweb.google.com/WindyNYC/GoldaSCuteLittleFaceWithoutTubes#
Monday, October 27, 2008
Day 40 Update
Good Morning! Things are a bit out of sorts here today since our schedule got completely screwed up with all the bris/baby naming happenings yesterday. The bris went well aside from the last minute aspect of it all - we were of course running late. My mom and Brent came over to help us get it all together and get out of here before we were actually late - thanks to them! And thanks to everyone who helped get the room in order before everyone else arrived. And of course thanks to everyone who joined us to celebrate this special occasion. After all the worry, it was nice to celebrate the arrival of the babies!
Micah handled it pretty well. He cried during the actual bris and a little after, but nothing like his big brother. Harrison cried solid for three hours after his bris! He wouldn't eat or calm down for anything. I am so glad that in spite of Micah crying at every little thing, he wasn't as upset - I don't know if I could have handled that! Leah, of course, was fine - she wasn't the one going "under the knife"! She just had a hand on her belly while a prayer was said.
I would appreciate it if everyone who took photos could send them to me. I will then put them up and post a link. Needless to say, we didn't actually get to take many photos.
I called last night and this morning to get updates on Golda. She was moved yesterday from the NICU room to the step-down room! I think these are just names for the rooms since the step-down room is still in the NICU suite and still requires all the precautions, it is just a lower level of care for babies that are more stable. This time we are fine with this move and think she is ready for it.
She had a good day yesterday and was getting fussy when I called - it was time for dinner and she was hungry! This morning when I called I was told they stopped her caffeine (which made her more alert so she wouldn't forget to breathe). The last time they increased her caffeine dose they said that they don't usually increase it - they give an adequate dose for their weight and then let them outgrow it until the point where it isn't having any effect any longer then they stop it. I guess we are at that point now for Golda! I was also told that she had a repeat eye exam today, but we don't know the results yet. I will try to call the doctor's office later on and find out. Her weight today is 1516 g (3 lbs. 5.47 oz.). We will be visiting Golda later on.
Harrison is home with us today. His "allergies" have blossomed into a cold and we have to get this under control as soon as possible so the babies don't get it. He is spending the day resting away from them, with frequent hand-washing, and we are keeping our fingers crossed that they haven't already gotten it.
Okay, that's all for now! More tomorrow!
Micah handled it pretty well. He cried during the actual bris and a little after, but nothing like his big brother. Harrison cried solid for three hours after his bris! He wouldn't eat or calm down for anything. I am so glad that in spite of Micah crying at every little thing, he wasn't as upset - I don't know if I could have handled that! Leah, of course, was fine - she wasn't the one going "under the knife"! She just had a hand on her belly while a prayer was said.
I would appreciate it if everyone who took photos could send them to me. I will then put them up and post a link. Needless to say, we didn't actually get to take many photos.
I called last night and this morning to get updates on Golda. She was moved yesterday from the NICU room to the step-down room! I think these are just names for the rooms since the step-down room is still in the NICU suite and still requires all the precautions, it is just a lower level of care for babies that are more stable. This time we are fine with this move and think she is ready for it.
She had a good day yesterday and was getting fussy when I called - it was time for dinner and she was hungry! This morning when I called I was told they stopped her caffeine (which made her more alert so she wouldn't forget to breathe). The last time they increased her caffeine dose they said that they don't usually increase it - they give an adequate dose for their weight and then let them outgrow it until the point where it isn't having any effect any longer then they stop it. I guess we are at that point now for Golda! I was also told that she had a repeat eye exam today, but we don't know the results yet. I will try to call the doctor's office later on and find out. Her weight today is 1516 g (3 lbs. 5.47 oz.). We will be visiting Golda later on.
Harrison is home with us today. His "allergies" have blossomed into a cold and we have to get this under control as soon as possible so the babies don't get it. He is spending the day resting away from them, with frequent hand-washing, and we are keeping our fingers crossed that they haven't already gotten it.
Okay, that's all for now! More tomorrow!
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Day 39 Update
Hi Everyone! This will be pretty brief since I am taking a minute out from getting ready to leave for the bris to write it.
Golda is doing well. She had a good night, with no episodes. I thought for sure that huge gain in weight yesterday was going to fall back today, especially since she made a huge, diaper blow-out poop yesterday, but she surprised me and instead added another 5 g to make her 1505 g (3 lbs. 5.08 oz.)! She is tolerating the increase to 30 ml of milk and otherwise holding her own. There is an admission scheduled for today in her room so they may bump her to the step-down room since she is doing so well. This time I would agree that she is ready to make that move, so I am kind of hoping it will happen.
Leah and Micah are doing okay. They have been kind of cranky the last day or so. We have been giving them Mylicon with mixed results. We are thinking that they might be having some growing pains since it seems like they are really getting bigger as you watch them and they are constantly stretching and moving.
The BBB spent last night with his cousins and had a great time. Aunt Pammy said he is welcome whenever he wants since the three of them played so nicely together she had tons of time to get other stuff done!
I will take photos today of them in their cute little outfits and post tomorrow!
Golda is doing well. She had a good night, with no episodes. I thought for sure that huge gain in weight yesterday was going to fall back today, especially since she made a huge, diaper blow-out poop yesterday, but she surprised me and instead added another 5 g to make her 1505 g (3 lbs. 5.08 oz.)! She is tolerating the increase to 30 ml of milk and otherwise holding her own. There is an admission scheduled for today in her room so they may bump her to the step-down room since she is doing so well. This time I would agree that she is ready to make that move, so I am kind of hoping it will happen.
Leah and Micah are doing okay. They have been kind of cranky the last day or so. We have been giving them Mylicon with mixed results. We are thinking that they might be having some growing pains since it seems like they are really getting bigger as you watch them and they are constantly stretching and moving.
The BBB spent last night with his cousins and had a great time. Aunt Pammy said he is welcome whenever he wants since the three of them played so nicely together she had tons of time to get other stuff done!
I will take photos today of them in their cute little outfits and post tomorrow!
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Day 38 Update
Good Morning! I didn't have a chance to post yesterday because we had tours of Blythedale and St. Mary's and tons of errands to run. Jon dropped Harry at school, then we dropped the babies at Mema and headed to Blythedale. It took us one hour and we didn't even hit any traffic. Needless to say we weren't thrilled with that drive as it will make it extremely difficult if not impossible to visit Golda daily if she were there. The facility seems fine, a bit school-like in appearance, but overall nice. St. Mary's looks more like a hotel than a hospital. The nursery is completely separate - closed doors, which is nice for security and the rooms are not as isolated. The babies are in areas more like alcoves than rooms. We decided that St. Mary's is definitely our first choice, but now we have to wait and see whether a bed will be available when Golda is ready to move.
Big news on Golda - she is now in a bassinet and doing great! She looks so much less tenuous in that bassinet than she did in the isolette - it is reassuring to see. They have increased her feeds to 30 ml over an hour every three hours and it seems to have done the trick - she now weighs 1500 g (3 lbs. 4.91 oz.)!!! I asked about such a large jump in only one night, but the nurse said it is fine. No registered apneas since the 16th which is awesome and other than a little irritation at her g-tube (that brown thing in the phots is the tube) site, she is truckin' along!
Big news on Golda - she is now in a bassinet and doing great! She looks so much less tenuous in that bassinet than she did in the isolette - it is reassuring to see. They have increased her feeds to 30 ml over an hour every three hours and it seems to have done the trick - she now weighs 1500 g (3 lbs. 4.91 oz.)!!! I asked about such a large jump in only one night, but the nurse said it is fine. No registered apneas since the 16th which is awesome and other than a little irritation at her g-tube (that brown thing in the phots is the tube) site, she is truckin' along!
Golda, telling us what she thinks of clothes!
Looking a little more comfortable now that she was swaddled. Note BBB's pictures that he made her.Leah and Micah are doing okay. They have been playing around with their feeding times and volumes lately which has been somewhat frustrating. At some feedings they want more and others less, but of course, it isn't like the 2pm feed is always less, just sometimes, so we can't plan for it. The good part is that they are starting to stretch the nighttime feeds so we have a four hour break between two of them!
We weighed them the other day on the new replacement scale. Shockingly, Micah weighed 6 lbs. 3 oz. and Leah weighed 4 lbs. 15 oz.!!! They are getting very close to doubling their birth weights (3 lbs. 10 oz. and 3 lbs. 2 oz.) which would be great. They have started eating breast milk mixed with formula since between them and their sister I am starting to have trouble keeping up! So far at least it seems like they notice the taste difference but haven't decided to complain about it.
Okay, gotta go and start getting ready now!
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Day 36 Update
Good Morning! Thanks to everyone who sent advice yesterday. Hearing your ideas was helpful.
I went to visit Golda last night around 4 pm so I could try to be there when the surgeons rounded. I wanted to ask them about something that came up the other day. I found out that Golda was put on Zantac at the same time we insisted on routine suctioning for her and was told that the doctor felt that the Zantac was responsible for stopping her episodes. This made absolutely no sense to me since she has esophageal atresia and can't possibly have reflux! It was explained that there is usually a piece of the esophagus that comes off the stomach and that the stomach could be refluxing into that and via a vasovagal response, could be causing the apnea. Again, given that the doctor had explained the apnea reflex was from receptors at the back of the throat, at the top of the trachea, this made no sense, especially since we didn't think Golda actually had any esophagus attached to her stomach. I missed the surgeons since they rounded earlier than usual but they left me a drawing (see below) of Golda's anatomy.
You can see the face (lol) at the top with the Repogle tube in the top part of the esophagus, the trachea branching into the bronchi and lungs, then the bottom part of the esophagus attached to the stomach, with her GT tube for feeding, heading down into the intestines. There is a decent sized gap between the top and bottom part so the esophagus and that is what we hope will decrease as she grows larger. The bottom part of the esophagus though is nowhere near high enough to be causing an apnic responses so the surgeon spoke to the attending doctor on her case and had the Zantac stopped. I was pleased to hear this, as well as to find out there was a portion of the esophagus attached to her stomach since this probably means a lower chance of reflux once she is reconstructed (because she most likely has a lower esophageal sphincter).I got to hold Golda for almost two hours yesterday! Janet came to see our little girl named for Gladys and kept me company while I visited. Golda was extremely happy with the attention and slept like an angel the whole time.
Today's report from the nurse was a good one. Golda hasn't had any episodes, even without the Zantac, as expected. She is still on 27 ml of fortified breast milk, but didn't put on much weight last night, 1447 g (3 lbs. 3.04 oz.). The good news is that she has been maintaining her body temperature so well that they are trying to get her out of the isolette today! It's down to 26C, which is the lowest it can go. When they check her temperature again around 1 pm, as long as it's good, she will move into a basinette!!!
Leah and Micah are growing nicely. We haven't been able to weigh them because the scale has stopped working for inexplicable reasons. A replacement is on it's way and should be arriving today (then we will return the other one). They are getting bigger though - Micah has actually outgrown his first outfit!! It's one of those sack things and he can't stretch his legs out anymore in it. Leah is getting close to outgrowing things too. They have obviously grown in length, Micah in weight, but Leah not so much. She is still looking a little scrawny! Mom has started washing the newborn clothes - so exciting, especially since they would have been 37 weeks 2 days today.
That's really all the news here! Tomorrow we have our tours of Blythedale and St. Mary's and then we will decided which facility we would like to try for first. Here are some photos for you to enjoy!
Our little Golda! 
My Two Burritos!
Leah, laying all over her brother
Leah, Micah and Daddy snoozing while waiting for the doctor. Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Day 35 Update
Hi Everyone! Sorry for the missed day yesterday. I was up at 4 am for the feeding, then after pumping, got ready for the day. We had appointments with the ophthalmologist for Micah and Leah at 8:30 am and had to drop Harry off at school. Then we had to do some shopping for Harry for school clothes. Busy day!
I called for the update on Golda while we were waiting in the doctor's office. She had a good night and remained off CPAP. She weighed 1440 g (3 lbs. 2.71 oz.) and was eating 27 ml. Monday, I visited her alone and got to sit and hold her for about an hour. It was really wonderful. I also pumped while there to give her some fresh milk and to try out the new pumps they have - excellent, by the way - Medela Symphony if anyone is in need of a hospital quality pump.
I stopped in to speak to the social worker about having Golda evaluated for St. Mary's Children's Hospital in Bayside. When they were telling me about Bythedale on Friday they really down-played the St. Mary's option and made it sound like I would be crazy to even consider it. Not knowing anything about it I didn't push the issue. Well, it turns out that is where David works (who knew it was that St. Mary's!) and it has the best feeding program in the country - just what Golda will need after her surgery! Apparently their guidance to me about hospital choices was somewhat political - St. Mary's has a waiting list while Blythedale doesn't. That means they can move Golda as soon as she is ready and not take up one of their beds any longer than necessary by a patient already paid in full. Ahh, medicine in the US. Anyway, long story short, thank you to David for stepping up and letting us know about another option - a closer and perhaps better option. We are submitting applications to both places and will tour both on Friday this week.
I visited Golda yesterday with my Mom and Harry (sibling visiting day you know). Golda was resting all swaddled when we got there. The nurse took her out and found that her feeding tube was leaking. They fixed it and changed her bedding while I held her. Harry came in and kissed her on her head a few times. He had made her two pictures of trains in the sibling group and we put them on the top of her isolette so she can see them. We took some photos too, but Mema has them on her camera - I will try to rescue them from oblivion soon and post them! LOL.
Today's update from the nurse sounds the same as yesterday's - Golda weighs 1445 g (3 lbs. 2.97 oz.) and is still eating 27 ml of milk. I asked whether this was what they consider a "full feed" for her since it hasn't increased in a few days and, after the nurse calculated it, was told that yes it was. Oh, and during the discussion with the intake liaison for St. Mary's Golda's doctor happened by and said that he is estimating 2-3 weeks before she is ready to be transferred! I am glad she is doing well, but I am not sure if this move will be better for her or make it any easier on us, so I am not sure if I am pushing for it or hesitant! I guess I will know more after our tours.
Leah and Micah are doing well. Their eye appointments didn't show any evidence of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) - a condition that can cause blindness - woo hoo. Golda was evaluated in the hospital and while she too doesn't currently show any evidence of ROP, she needs further follow-up, as do Leah and Micah. Leah and Micah got 4 different eye drops in each eye. Leah was not very impressed and by the last one she didn't even stop drinking her bottle! Micah however let his annoyance be known to everyone around.
After we finally got out of the doctor's office we decided to try going to a diner for some food since Jon and I hadn't eaten yet. We got our food and were halfway through when Leah started fussing. By the time I got her out of her carrier was in full-blown hysterics. Very unusual for Leah! She wasn't to be quieted either so Jon took her out to the car while I got the food wrapped and paid. It took a few more minutes once I joined them in the car for her to calm down enough to put her back in her carrier. We are assuming it was over-stimulation because her eyes were so dilated and the place was bright, but really have no clue why she freaked out like that.
We were heading to Queens Center Mall (their first Mall outing!) so we stopped at Flushing Meadows park to feed them in the car. While waiting for them to fuss for food we took a brief cat nap. They each ate their bottles hungrily and then went back into the carriers. When we got to the mall we hit a family bathroom and all used the facilities! We were looking for long-sleeve navy blue polo shirts for Harry's school uniform. Needless to say everywhere (and I mean everywhere) was sold out - oh, except for Macy's on real Polo brand shirts at $35 a pop! Finally we tried Children's Place and found two in a size 7/8 and on the off-chance they would fit him, bought them. Well, Harry either has two dresses now or two shirts for next year! The search continues! Leah and Micah were very good in the stores and car though. We only hope Golda will be as good while we are out and about.
One not so nice thing about being out in public with Leah and Micah though. The twin stroller attracts attention and seeing two and only two babies people naturally assume they are twins. They ask what sex they are and comment on the cute twins. Needless to say, this was upsetting - they aren't twins, we have another beautiful little girl who is still in the hospital and will be for some time. The problem is that I don't want to tell every stranger who innocently comments on the cute little babies our whole story - certainly not what they bargained for when congratulating us, but at the same time, I feel like by letting the "twins" statement go uncontested I am somehow not doing right by Golda. I was thinking about what I could do and the only thing I came up with was to make a little sign for Leah's carrier that said "1 of 3" and for Micah that said "2 of 3" and maybe put photos of the other two on each sign and even put one on Golda's isolette. What do you all think about this idea? Should I just let it go and realize that it doesn't matter what people think or should I correct them each time or put the sign or do something else?
Okay, that's it for now. Please remember to let me know whether you will or will not be joining us on Sunday.
I called for the update on Golda while we were waiting in the doctor's office. She had a good night and remained off CPAP. She weighed 1440 g (3 lbs. 2.71 oz.) and was eating 27 ml. Monday, I visited her alone and got to sit and hold her for about an hour. It was really wonderful. I also pumped while there to give her some fresh milk and to try out the new pumps they have - excellent, by the way - Medela Symphony if anyone is in need of a hospital quality pump.
I stopped in to speak to the social worker about having Golda evaluated for St. Mary's Children's Hospital in Bayside. When they were telling me about Bythedale on Friday they really down-played the St. Mary's option and made it sound like I would be crazy to even consider it. Not knowing anything about it I didn't push the issue. Well, it turns out that is where David works (who knew it was that St. Mary's!) and it has the best feeding program in the country - just what Golda will need after her surgery! Apparently their guidance to me about hospital choices was somewhat political - St. Mary's has a waiting list while Blythedale doesn't. That means they can move Golda as soon as she is ready and not take up one of their beds any longer than necessary by a patient already paid in full. Ahh, medicine in the US. Anyway, long story short, thank you to David for stepping up and letting us know about another option - a closer and perhaps better option. We are submitting applications to both places and will tour both on Friday this week.
I visited Golda yesterday with my Mom and Harry (sibling visiting day you know). Golda was resting all swaddled when we got there. The nurse took her out and found that her feeding tube was leaking. They fixed it and changed her bedding while I held her. Harry came in and kissed her on her head a few times. He had made her two pictures of trains in the sibling group and we put them on the top of her isolette so she can see them. We took some photos too, but Mema has them on her camera - I will try to rescue them from oblivion soon and post them! LOL.
Today's update from the nurse sounds the same as yesterday's - Golda weighs 1445 g (3 lbs. 2.97 oz.) and is still eating 27 ml of milk. I asked whether this was what they consider a "full feed" for her since it hasn't increased in a few days and, after the nurse calculated it, was told that yes it was. Oh, and during the discussion with the intake liaison for St. Mary's Golda's doctor happened by and said that he is estimating 2-3 weeks before she is ready to be transferred! I am glad she is doing well, but I am not sure if this move will be better for her or make it any easier on us, so I am not sure if I am pushing for it or hesitant! I guess I will know more after our tours.
Leah and Micah are doing well. Their eye appointments didn't show any evidence of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) - a condition that can cause blindness - woo hoo. Golda was evaluated in the hospital and while she too doesn't currently show any evidence of ROP, she needs further follow-up, as do Leah and Micah. Leah and Micah got 4 different eye drops in each eye. Leah was not very impressed and by the last one she didn't even stop drinking her bottle! Micah however let his annoyance be known to everyone around.
After we finally got out of the doctor's office we decided to try going to a diner for some food since Jon and I hadn't eaten yet. We got our food and were halfway through when Leah started fussing. By the time I got her out of her carrier was in full-blown hysterics. Very unusual for Leah! She wasn't to be quieted either so Jon took her out to the car while I got the food wrapped and paid. It took a few more minutes once I joined them in the car for her to calm down enough to put her back in her carrier. We are assuming it was over-stimulation because her eyes were so dilated and the place was bright, but really have no clue why she freaked out like that.
We were heading to Queens Center Mall (their first Mall outing!) so we stopped at Flushing Meadows park to feed them in the car. While waiting for them to fuss for food we took a brief cat nap. They each ate their bottles hungrily and then went back into the carriers. When we got to the mall we hit a family bathroom and all used the facilities! We were looking for long-sleeve navy blue polo shirts for Harry's school uniform. Needless to say everywhere (and I mean everywhere) was sold out - oh, except for Macy's on real Polo brand shirts at $35 a pop! Finally we tried Children's Place and found two in a size 7/8 and on the off-chance they would fit him, bought them. Well, Harry either has two dresses now or two shirts for next year! The search continues! Leah and Micah were very good in the stores and car though. We only hope Golda will be as good while we are out and about.
One not so nice thing about being out in public with Leah and Micah though. The twin stroller attracts attention and seeing two and only two babies people naturally assume they are twins. They ask what sex they are and comment on the cute twins. Needless to say, this was upsetting - they aren't twins, we have another beautiful little girl who is still in the hospital and will be for some time. The problem is that I don't want to tell every stranger who innocently comments on the cute little babies our whole story - certainly not what they bargained for when congratulating us, but at the same time, I feel like by letting the "twins" statement go uncontested I am somehow not doing right by Golda. I was thinking about what I could do and the only thing I came up with was to make a little sign for Leah's carrier that said "1 of 3" and for Micah that said "2 of 3" and maybe put photos of the other two on each sign and even put one on Golda's isolette. What do you all think about this idea? Should I just let it go and realize that it doesn't matter what people think or should I correct them each time or put the sign or do something else?
Okay, that's it for now. Please remember to let me know whether you will or will not be joining us on Sunday.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Day 33 Update
Good Morning! Last night was a milestone - Leah and Micah slept through the 3am feeding!!! Jon fed them a little late for the midnight feeding and dreamed that he had fed them at 3 am! I didn't hear them complaining until 5 am - that means they weren't hungry until then since I hear every noise they make (thus the exhaustion!). When they did complain loudly I poked Jon to make sure he fed them at 3. He said he did. I gave them pacifiers and went back to bed. When they were still complaining at 5:30 I asked Jon again if he fed them full bottles at 3 and he said yes. Well, they were getting more and more upset at that point so I got up and prepared their bottles. At ten to 6 I started feeding Micah, then followed up with Leah. By 6:35 I was done feeding both! That was a serious record feeding time! While I was feeding Micah, Jon woke up fully and realized that he was so tired that he had in fact dreamed that he fed them at 3 am and had not actually done it, but it was fine since they didn't complain for another two hours past that. Tonight we will try to omit that feeding again and give the 6am feeding a little earlier to see if we can make it for five hours!!!
I don't have weights for Leah and Micah yet. We tried to use the scale, but apparently a certain BBB must have been playing with it because the battery died! We will replace it today and try to use it again later on. They are both doing well though.
I called about Golda this morning and got the good news that they are trialling her off her CPAP once again. She is breathing room air and so far so good. Her blood oxygen levels haven't dipped below 95% at all and she hasn't had any episodes for the last few days. They are routinely suctioning her which has really helped and will be watching her closely for any signs that she might be getting tired from the effort of breathing off the CPAP. If there are any, she will of course be put back on it, but I am keeping my fingers crossed. She is staying at 27 ml breast milk and has gained some weight - she is now 1417 g (3 lbs. 1.98 oz.).
Okay, I have to get moving now! Off to the hospital, then to buy a costume for Harry for Halloween!
I don't have weights for Leah and Micah yet. We tried to use the scale, but apparently a certain BBB must have been playing with it because the battery died! We will replace it today and try to use it again later on. They are both doing well though.
I called about Golda this morning and got the good news that they are trialling her off her CPAP once again. She is breathing room air and so far so good. Her blood oxygen levels haven't dipped below 95% at all and she hasn't had any episodes for the last few days. They are routinely suctioning her which has really helped and will be watching her closely for any signs that she might be getting tired from the effort of breathing off the CPAP. If there are any, she will of course be put back on it, but I am keeping my fingers crossed. She is staying at 27 ml breast milk and has gained some weight - she is now 1417 g (3 lbs. 1.98 oz.).
Okay, I have to get moving now! Off to the hospital, then to buy a costume for Harry for Halloween!
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Day 32 Update - Bris information!
Hi Everyone! First things first: Micah's bris and the naming of the girls will be Sunday, October 26th at 11:30 am. It will be near where we live. Please let me know if you are planning to attend and I will give you the details (don't really want to post it on a public blog). My email address is windynyc@aol.com in case you don't have it handy.
Okay, now on to the Golda update. Jon and I went by there last night before our dinner. She was doing very well. Fast asleep looking very comfortable. (Jon and Deena said she is resting nicely today too.) I finally remembered to bring the nail clipper and nail file so I gave her her first manicure! Man were her nails long! The nurse manager did as she promised and put notes on the front cover of her chart and on her isolette next to her name tag saying: "I need to be suctioned at least every three hours or I will have episodes. Thanks, Golda." It has worked - this morning the nurse reported that she hasn't had any episodes since the night before and has been suctioned routinely! She is still on room air on her CPAP and is now up to 27 ml of breast milk per feeding. She weighs 1399 g (3 lbs. 1.34 oz.) which is still holding steady.
Leah and Micah are doing well too. They had a much better night last night and have switched to an hour later on the schedule of feedings - 3am, 6am, 9am, noon, 3 pm, 6pm, 9pm, midnight. This will work better for our long-term needs, like getting Harry to and from school and eating dinner, etc. They are looking bigger and bigger these days. I will weigh them tonight before their baths and let you know what they weigh tomorrow.
Jon went with my parents and Harry yesterday to pick up cribs from a friend of a friend. It was a great deal - 3 matching convertible cribs, with mattresses (barely used) and bedding, a glider and a changing table for $600!!! The glider is very comfortable and has replaced our previous one which broke the day before we brought Micah home - what timing!
Anyway, I have to go and do some straightening up. Hope to see you next Sunday!
Okay, now on to the Golda update. Jon and I went by there last night before our dinner. She was doing very well. Fast asleep looking very comfortable. (Jon and Deena said she is resting nicely today too.) I finally remembered to bring the nail clipper and nail file so I gave her her first manicure! Man were her nails long! The nurse manager did as she promised and put notes on the front cover of her chart and on her isolette next to her name tag saying: "I need to be suctioned at least every three hours or I will have episodes. Thanks, Golda." It has worked - this morning the nurse reported that she hasn't had any episodes since the night before and has been suctioned routinely! She is still on room air on her CPAP and is now up to 27 ml of breast milk per feeding. She weighs 1399 g (3 lbs. 1.34 oz.) which is still holding steady.
Leah and Micah are doing well too. They had a much better night last night and have switched to an hour later on the schedule of feedings - 3am, 6am, 9am, noon, 3 pm, 6pm, 9pm, midnight. This will work better for our long-term needs, like getting Harry to and from school and eating dinner, etc. They are looking bigger and bigger these days. I will weigh them tonight before their baths and let you know what they weigh tomorrow.
Jon went with my parents and Harry yesterday to pick up cribs from a friend of a friend. It was a great deal - 3 matching convertible cribs, with mattresses (barely used) and bedding, a glider and a changing table for $600!!! The glider is very comfortable and has replaced our previous one which broke the day before we brought Micah home - what timing!
Anyway, I have to go and do some straightening up. Hope to see you next Sunday!
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Day 31 Update - 1 month old!
Hi Everyone! Today our triplets are one month old, but their adjusted age is still negative. That means that they are still less than full-term age of 40 weeks gestation. They are 36 weeks 4 days gestational age, so minus 3 weeks 3 days. The fact that we have any of them home at this point is great and a wonderful 10th anniversary present! I keep telling myself that, especially when I get to stressing about Golda.
Golda is doing okay. Jon went to visit her last night and spoke to the nurses and resident about the need to suction her often and to clean her mouth. They agreed to some of his concerns but weren't as receptive as we would have liked. This highlights another of our problems with this NICU - continuity of care between shifts. There are numerous times when I have to tell a nurse what the nurse the day before said or did indicating that this information is not being passed on at report. So when I called today I was prepared to ask to speak to the charge nurse to discuss this. As it turns out, Golda's nurse today is the charge nurse. She said that she heard that we were concerned about some bubbles by the baby's mouth. I told her that was a huge understatement and downplaying of our true concerns and explained the problems. She agreed that, especially since we can't visit as often as we would like to, we need to be confident that Golda is receiving the attention and care she needs. She said she would place a note in the front of her chart instructing all nurses to suction Golda every three hours and more often if she seemed to be having difficulties or more episodes. That way, it couldn't get overlooked at report any longer, as sometimes happens when a new case arrives during report or an emergency occurs and it gets hectic.
With this taken care of, I got the update on Golda. She is still on CPAP, and still on room air. After Jon left last night she did not have any more episodes (thanks to his insisting she be suctioned - go daddy!). She is up to 25 ml of breast milk, but didn't put on any weight overnight. She is 1401 g (3 lbs. 1.41 oz.). We will visit later today.
Last night, being Friday night, we decided to go to dinner with my parents to Lenny's for our usual Friday night outing. Jon went to Babies R Us and got a double car seat stroller since we figure it will come in handy for the next couple of months and even once Golda is home too (we can use it at malls and such in combination with the single car seat stroller when we are both there). We fed the babies at 6 pm and headed out at 7:30 pm. Since these babies are slow eaters and weren't overly interested in eating they only got through part of the bottles. They were very good in their carriers while we ate. Micah started complaining in between the appetizers and main course so Jon fed him the rest of his bottle, then Leah complained after the main course, but didn't really eat any more of her bottle. Harry was happy playing tic tac toe with Mema during dinner and went home with her for his usual Friday night sleep over with Mema and Pepa.
Due to the disruption of their eating pattern though the babies gave us a really tough night. We had decided to feed them smaller portions during the night because they didn't really seem very interested in eating at that time and that together with the change in timing had them eating every two hours! The only benefit in this was that they were really hungry at each feeding and ate quickly, but man are we tired today! We have them back on an every three hour schedule today with full volume feeds and they are adjusting well, thankfully. This will be a lesson to us though - don't mess with the timing of the feeds while messing with volume of the feeds.
Tonight we are going to dinner and a movie thanks to Mema and Pepa's babysitting! Imagine - just us sitting down to a meal and not worrying about eating as quickly as possible so we can feed someone else!
Golda is doing okay. Jon went to visit her last night and spoke to the nurses and resident about the need to suction her often and to clean her mouth. They agreed to some of his concerns but weren't as receptive as we would have liked. This highlights another of our problems with this NICU - continuity of care between shifts. There are numerous times when I have to tell a nurse what the nurse the day before said or did indicating that this information is not being passed on at report. So when I called today I was prepared to ask to speak to the charge nurse to discuss this. As it turns out, Golda's nurse today is the charge nurse. She said that she heard that we were concerned about some bubbles by the baby's mouth. I told her that was a huge understatement and downplaying of our true concerns and explained the problems. She agreed that, especially since we can't visit as often as we would like to, we need to be confident that Golda is receiving the attention and care she needs. She said she would place a note in the front of her chart instructing all nurses to suction Golda every three hours and more often if she seemed to be having difficulties or more episodes. That way, it couldn't get overlooked at report any longer, as sometimes happens when a new case arrives during report or an emergency occurs and it gets hectic.
With this taken care of, I got the update on Golda. She is still on CPAP, and still on room air. After Jon left last night she did not have any more episodes (thanks to his insisting she be suctioned - go daddy!). She is up to 25 ml of breast milk, but didn't put on any weight overnight. She is 1401 g (3 lbs. 1.41 oz.). We will visit later today.
Last night, being Friday night, we decided to go to dinner with my parents to Lenny's for our usual Friday night outing. Jon went to Babies R Us and got a double car seat stroller since we figure it will come in handy for the next couple of months and even once Golda is home too (we can use it at malls and such in combination with the single car seat stroller when we are both there). We fed the babies at 6 pm and headed out at 7:30 pm. Since these babies are slow eaters and weren't overly interested in eating they only got through part of the bottles. They were very good in their carriers while we ate. Micah started complaining in between the appetizers and main course so Jon fed him the rest of his bottle, then Leah complained after the main course, but didn't really eat any more of her bottle. Harry was happy playing tic tac toe with Mema during dinner and went home with her for his usual Friday night sleep over with Mema and Pepa.
Due to the disruption of their eating pattern though the babies gave us a really tough night. We had decided to feed them smaller portions during the night because they didn't really seem very interested in eating at that time and that together with the change in timing had them eating every two hours! The only benefit in this was that they were really hungry at each feeding and ate quickly, but man are we tired today! We have them back on an every three hour schedule today with full volume feeds and they are adjusting well, thankfully. This will be a lesson to us though - don't mess with the timing of the feeds while messing with volume of the feeds.
Tonight we are going to dinner and a movie thanks to Mema and Pepa's babysitting! Imagine - just us sitting down to a meal and not worrying about eating as quickly as possible so we can feed someone else!
Friday, October 17, 2008
Day 30 Update
Good Morning. Yesterday I went to visit Golda solo again. I was able to park in the parking garage and walk to the NICU. I went slowly and was physically tired and in a bit of pain by the time I got home, but I was able to do it which is quite an improvement! (Oh and Harry and I stopped at the drug store to pick up some stuff - including newborn size diapers for Micah!)
I saw the social worker, the attending physician and the surgeon while there. Through all of that I was able to piece together the tentative plan for the next few months for Golda. She remains on the CPAP, mostly on room air, although while I was there they had to increase the oxygen a couple of times to help her recover from apneas. The attending feels these episodes are most likely due to a build up of secretions (sticky saliva) at the back of her throat, near the entrance to the trachea. There are receptors there that sense fluid and cause you to stop breathing - so you don't breathe in the fluid to your lungs (aspirate). In preemies, this reflex is stronger and lasts longer than in full-term babies, kids and adults. This, not her premature status per se or infection, is what he feels is causing her episodes. He has instituted a strict regimen of suction every three hours and suction at any episode. The surgeon also requested her tube be changed back to the Repogle and not the Anderson tube since the Repogle was actually designed for her condition. I told him why it had been switched and he said that if it does become clogged it should be changed (which wasn't being done before).
The attending feels that in perhaps 3-5 weeks Golda will be medically ready to transition out of the NICU. The problem is that he thinks she will still need more attention than we can give her at home. He is anticipating that she will transition to Blythedale Children's Hospital in Valhalla, NY for a short time (1-2 months) during which she will grow and stabilize and we will be fully trained in her care. I listened to everything they told me about the hospital and we watched the video they gave us. It sounds like a perfect place for her - except for it's location. It is, without traffic, 50 minutes away. I cannot imagine where we will find the time to visit her as often as we would like to, but somehow we are going to have to since it really does sound ideal for her needs. They have put us on the waiting list so she can have a bed when she is ready and they are trying to set up a site visit for us so we can become more comfortable with it, however, they will re-evaluate the situation as the date comes closer.
As of now, Golda is still on her CPAP and hasn't had any episodes this morning. She is up to 23 ml of fortified breast milk. They have stopped her antibiotics because, thankfully, all of the cultures have come back negative. She gained some weight too, measuring 1406 g (3 lbs. 1.59 oz.).
Leah and Micah are doing okay. They seem to be less interested in their 2 and 5 am feeds so we are playing around with the schedule to see if we can accommodate everyone's needs a little better. We have shifted the feeds an hour later during the day - 9, 12, 3, 6, 9 - then we will try to give a larger feed at 1 am and see how long they can go on that. Of course, if they protest then it will be every three hours, but it really seems like we are force feeding them at night when they are less interested and they are remaining somewhat hungry during the day when they are a little more awake. Please keep your fingers crossed that this works! It would be heavenly to have more than three hours at a time to sleep!
Harry has been feeling a bit neglected these last few days. It's been difficult to balance everyone's schedules and he, unfortunately, has taken most of the hits. I have been trying to step up more though (since Jon has been able to give him more time recently and he is really feeling the lack of my attention) and gave him his bath last night, did his homework with him for the last couple of days, read to him before bed, and tried to spend mommy and Harry time with him. He is enjoying it, but it is of course not enough. If this new feeding schedule works out, we should have more time to spend with him again. Through it all though he hasn't been too bad. His big acting out was shaking the bassinet to wake the babies (which failed) and having a couple of breakdowns when he didn't get his way. Pretty minor considering the huge upheaval his life has taken.
Okay, that's it for now! More tomorrow!
I saw the social worker, the attending physician and the surgeon while there. Through all of that I was able to piece together the tentative plan for the next few months for Golda. She remains on the CPAP, mostly on room air, although while I was there they had to increase the oxygen a couple of times to help her recover from apneas. The attending feels these episodes are most likely due to a build up of secretions (sticky saliva) at the back of her throat, near the entrance to the trachea. There are receptors there that sense fluid and cause you to stop breathing - so you don't breathe in the fluid to your lungs (aspirate). In preemies, this reflex is stronger and lasts longer than in full-term babies, kids and adults. This, not her premature status per se or infection, is what he feels is causing her episodes. He has instituted a strict regimen of suction every three hours and suction at any episode. The surgeon also requested her tube be changed back to the Repogle and not the Anderson tube since the Repogle was actually designed for her condition. I told him why it had been switched and he said that if it does become clogged it should be changed (which wasn't being done before).
The attending feels that in perhaps 3-5 weeks Golda will be medically ready to transition out of the NICU. The problem is that he thinks she will still need more attention than we can give her at home. He is anticipating that she will transition to Blythedale Children's Hospital in Valhalla, NY for a short time (1-2 months) during which she will grow and stabilize and we will be fully trained in her care. I listened to everything they told me about the hospital and we watched the video they gave us. It sounds like a perfect place for her - except for it's location. It is, without traffic, 50 minutes away. I cannot imagine where we will find the time to visit her as often as we would like to, but somehow we are going to have to since it really does sound ideal for her needs. They have put us on the waiting list so she can have a bed when she is ready and they are trying to set up a site visit for us so we can become more comfortable with it, however, they will re-evaluate the situation as the date comes closer.
As of now, Golda is still on her CPAP and hasn't had any episodes this morning. She is up to 23 ml of fortified breast milk. They have stopped her antibiotics because, thankfully, all of the cultures have come back negative. She gained some weight too, measuring 1406 g (3 lbs. 1.59 oz.).
Leah and Micah are doing okay. They seem to be less interested in their 2 and 5 am feeds so we are playing around with the schedule to see if we can accommodate everyone's needs a little better. We have shifted the feeds an hour later during the day - 9, 12, 3, 6, 9 - then we will try to give a larger feed at 1 am and see how long they can go on that. Of course, if they protest then it will be every three hours, but it really seems like we are force feeding them at night when they are less interested and they are remaining somewhat hungry during the day when they are a little more awake. Please keep your fingers crossed that this works! It would be heavenly to have more than three hours at a time to sleep!
Harry has been feeling a bit neglected these last few days. It's been difficult to balance everyone's schedules and he, unfortunately, has taken most of the hits. I have been trying to step up more though (since Jon has been able to give him more time recently and he is really feeling the lack of my attention) and gave him his bath last night, did his homework with him for the last couple of days, read to him before bed, and tried to spend mommy and Harry time with him. He is enjoying it, but it is of course not enough. If this new feeding schedule works out, we should have more time to spend with him again. Through it all though he hasn't been too bad. His big acting out was shaking the bassinet to wake the babies (which failed) and having a couple of breakdowns when he didn't get his way. Pretty minor considering the huge upheaval his life has taken.
Okay, that's it for now! More tomorrow!
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Day 29 Update
Good Morning. We are a bit pooped today. For some reason the babies were very squeaky and cranky last night. It kept waking me and, of course, by the time I got up and got to the pack n play they were sound asleep and quiet again!
Leah and Micah are doing well though. They just increased the amounts they are eating - Micah to 90 ml (3 oz!) and Leah to 75 ml (2.5 oz) so they have also increased the amounts they are pooping too! On the plus side though, they are really looking bigger now - and our new scale proves that - Micah is now 5 lbs. 10 oz.!!! Leah is 4 lbs. 6 oz.!!! I didn't believe the scale at first and had Jon get one of his weights to check it's accuracy. Well, it's accurate (to within 1.5 oz.) so those babies have really packed on the weight since coming home! Now that Micah is above 5 lbs. I will be consulting the calendar then calling the Mohel to arrange the bris.
Golda is holding her own. Jon went to see her last night. He held her for a half hour and she cried when he put her back in her isolette. He didn't like how her Anderson tube (the saliva drain) looked so he asked the nurse to change it before he left (which she did). This morning the nurse told me that they had to put Golda back on the CPAP because she had another couple of episodes of both apnea and bradycardia over night. They felt the CPAP would give her a little help in keeping her lungs open since it appears that the episodes are just from her being too tired to remember to breathe all the time and since she doesn't need supplemental oxygen either. She is probably using all her energy to digest her food - she is up to 18 ml of fortified breast milk and will increase to 21 ml later today! She added only 5 g last night, bringing her current weight to 1385 g (3 lbs. 0.85oz.).
Our "grand outing" yesterday to the playground at the school to get the BBB went well. The babies protested being strapped in but then promptly fell asleep until we were on the way back. The stroller doesn't have a rotating front wheel so driving it was a bit tricky, but we got the hang of it pretty soon.
Leah and Micah are doing well though. They just increased the amounts they are eating - Micah to 90 ml (3 oz!) and Leah to 75 ml (2.5 oz) so they have also increased the amounts they are pooping too! On the plus side though, they are really looking bigger now - and our new scale proves that - Micah is now 5 lbs. 10 oz.!!! Leah is 4 lbs. 6 oz.!!! I didn't believe the scale at first and had Jon get one of his weights to check it's accuracy. Well, it's accurate (to within 1.5 oz.) so those babies have really packed on the weight since coming home! Now that Micah is above 5 lbs. I will be consulting the calendar then calling the Mohel to arrange the bris.
Golda is holding her own. Jon went to see her last night. He held her for a half hour and she cried when he put her back in her isolette. He didn't like how her Anderson tube (the saliva drain) looked so he asked the nurse to change it before he left (which she did). This morning the nurse told me that they had to put Golda back on the CPAP because she had another couple of episodes of both apnea and bradycardia over night. They felt the CPAP would give her a little help in keeping her lungs open since it appears that the episodes are just from her being too tired to remember to breathe all the time and since she doesn't need supplemental oxygen either. She is probably using all her energy to digest her food - she is up to 18 ml of fortified breast milk and will increase to 21 ml later today! She added only 5 g last night, bringing her current weight to 1385 g (3 lbs. 0.85oz.).
Our "grand outing" yesterday to the playground at the school to get the BBB went well. The babies protested being strapped in but then promptly fell asleep until we were on the way back. The stroller doesn't have a rotating front wheel so driving it was a bit tricky, but we got the hang of it pretty soon.
That's Micah up front and Leah in the middle position. The spot where the diaper bag is will be Golda's.
That's it for now. I am going to try to get myself out of here soon since the nurse also told me that Golda is out of breast milk and they are giving her formula until I get there with more.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Day 28 Update
Good Morning! Today is the day we will venture out with our new stroller for a walk! That new stroller is HUGE. We were a little surprised at it's size but I guess what can you expect when it holds three baby carriers one in front of the other!?!? I will take some photos later to share.
Last night was sibling visiting at LIJ. Mema was coming over to babysit while Jon and I took Harry to see Golda, but Jon was so exhausted that he actually decided to take a nap. Given the infrequency of that occurrence I decided not to wake him. He woke up just before we were set to leave so Mema got to come with us to see Golda and Jon stayed home with Leah and Micah.
While we were signing Harry in to the group the charge nurse told me, all happy, that Golda had been moved. I asked where she was moved to and was told it was the same level of care, but they had gotten slammed with newborns and had to shuffle rooms. When I finally made it inside I realized Golda was in a step-down room. That means that instead of one nurse to two patients, it was one nurse to five patients! And the patients isolettes were so close together that I just fit in between (barely). I was not happy and spoke to the charge nurse about it. She assured me the decision was made by the entire medical team caring for Golda and it was fine for her to be there. I clarified that with all her apnea and bradycardia episodes I was concerned but again she said it was fine. S ince I have been such a hormonal mess lately, launching into tears at the drop of a hat, I didn't want to push it too much figuring I was just over-reacting. So, we broke Golda out of her isolette for some snuggling with Mommy and Mema. Harry was very excited to find her out and proceeded to poke away at her! I told him that I had assured her she would not be poked by him since he had poked his brother and sister already, but he said nope, she needed poking too! After Harry went back to the room with the Child Life Specialists Mema held Golda for a bit.
Last night was sibling visiting at LIJ. Mema was coming over to babysit while Jon and I took Harry to see Golda, but Jon was so exhausted that he actually decided to take a nap. Given the infrequency of that occurrence I decided not to wake him. He woke up just before we were set to leave so Mema got to come with us to see Golda and Jon stayed home with Leah and Micah.
While we were signing Harry in to the group the charge nurse told me, all happy, that Golda had been moved. I asked where she was moved to and was told it was the same level of care, but they had gotten slammed with newborns and had to shuffle rooms. When I finally made it inside I realized Golda was in a step-down room. That means that instead of one nurse to two patients, it was one nurse to five patients! And the patients isolettes were so close together that I just fit in between (barely). I was not happy and spoke to the charge nurse about it. She assured me the decision was made by the entire medical team caring for Golda and it was fine for her to be there. I clarified that with all her apnea and bradycardia episodes I was concerned but again she said it was fine. S ince I have been such a hormonal mess lately, launching into tears at the drop of a hat, I didn't want to push it too much figuring I was just over-reacting. So, we broke Golda out of her isolette for some snuggling with Mommy and Mema. Harry was very excited to find her out and proceeded to poke away at her! I told him that I had assured her she would not be poked by him since he had poked his brother and sister already, but he said nope, she needed poking too! After Harry went back to the room with the Child Life Specialists Mema held Golda for a bit.
Note how nicely her face is filling out and how her arms aren't just skin and bones anymore!
When I called to check on her this morning, my concerns from yesterday were justified. Apparently she had a number of episodes of apnea with one slowing of the heart rate (not to to the level of bradycardia though) and they moved her back to the higher care room. She is not in the same location, because of the new babies, but she is receiving the level IV care again. They repeated the blood culture and started antibiotics just in case since infection can cause these symptoms. We will have final results on the urinalysis that was done two days ago today and on this blood culture in two days. On the positive side, she is eating 15 ml of fortified breast milk and they are stopping her hyperalimentation (the extra food she was receiving)! They will leave her broviac (central line in her chest) in for another few days just to be sure she is tolerating the feedings well enough before they remove it. She now weighs 1380 g (3 lbs. 0.67 oz.).
Last night while we were there the surgeon stopped by. I told him that I had heard his news (that he will be shipping out to Iraq in six weeks) and he confirmed it. After telling him to be careful, I asked who will be taking over Golda's case and he, thankfully, said Dr. Dolgin, the chief of pediatric surgery (the doctor we consulted when we first found out about this at 23 weeks). In addition, there is a worldwide expert on esophageal atresia who used to work out of Boston, I think at the Deaconess, now semi-retired, who occasionally comes to NY to do surgery. There is another baby born at almost the same time as Golda with the same problems at the NICU at LIJ now too. They are trying to coordinate their two surgeries with this surgeon's schedule so that he can do with the procedures with Dr. Dolgin assisting. Needless to say, both of these possibilities sound great to us. Additionally, I asked about how Golda will be when she comes home before the surgery. He said she will come home on monitors so we can sleep at night and not have to stand vigil over her - the monitors will sound if she needs assistance. She will also have the suction tube and feeding tube that we will need to learn to care for. I keep telling myself it will only be a few months and we can do it, but oy, it's a lot more than we had anticipated while pregnant. Jon is much more optimistic, saying that it will be fine and it's a good thing she will have monitors so we won't have to stand over her all the time and once we learn how to do it, we will become old hats at it. I know he's right and I know that we will be fine with it all once we are properly instructed, but until it actually happens it a bit overwhelming.
Anyway, on to Leah and Micah. They are doing great. We can look at them and see the change in size for both of them already! They have finally started eating all that we are giving them so we are going to increase what we offer again - Micah to 85 ml and Golda to 75 ml. We recently received a baby scale as a gift for them (thank you!) so I will weigh them tonight when they are stripped down for their baths.
The best part about caring for them both is that they are starting to be much more alert after feedings. They will sit there and look all around, turning their heads this way and that to take it all in. We prop them up in their boppies and they lay there all happy for about a half hour to an hour before conking out again.
That's all for now! Hope you have a good day!
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Day 27 Update
Good Morning! It's back to school for Harry and back to trying to live by some kind of schedule for us. We are falling into a pattern with the feedings for the most part, now if we could figure out how to fit the rest of our lives into that pattern we would be all set! Hopefully, once the triplet stroller arrives (supposedly tomorrow) we will be able to venture out with them a little more.
I went to visit Golda solo yesterday. It wasn't too bad since I got a great parking spot right at the end of the driveway. When I got upstairs the nurse was working on another baby so I was over there talking to her for a bit. She reported that Golda had another couple of episodes so they checked her caffeine level and found it low. They gave her a bolus dose (large dose at once) to increase it, then ordered her routine level increased as well. Her hematocrit was low so she received a transfusion of packed red blood cells. And they stopped her supplemental lipids. I then scrubbed and headed over to Golda. The new attending stopped me to discuss her care. He showed me her g-tube site and explained their concerns. I explained that it really was looking much better than it had been. He was happy to hear that since most of her care providers are new they weren't able to make that determination themselves. He also gave me some news that wasn't too welcome. Golda's surgeon, the expert on esophageal atresia reconstruction, is apparently in the military and has been called to active duty. He leaves for Iraq in six weeks (too soon for Golda to have her surgery) and won't be back for at least a year! That means someone else will be doing her reconstruction, possibly Dr. Dolgin, the head of pediatric surgery, which wouldn't be too worrisome for me. The attending said he would arrange a consult for us with whomever the team thought should take over her case. I then finally made it over to Golda and sat with her for all of three minutes before they closed the room for a new admission. I waited over an hour to get back in, but they said it would stay closed at least until shift change at 7 pm (which is when visiting hours end until 9 pm) so I left very disappointed.
The morning report for Golda was good. She had a good night with no more episodes - the new dose of caffeine is obviously doing the trick! She is now up to 15 ml of breast milk with human milk fortifier so I am hoping she will start putting on the grams now. She is up to 1374 g (3 lbs. 0.46 oz.) which is reassuring. She also got her blood transfusion and the nurse said is looking a lot less pale. Today is Tuesday and that means it's sibling visitation day so we will be going up to visit with Harry later on (photos to follow!).
We are getting into the swing of things with Leah and Micah. The main problem with our current schedule is that it leaves Jon about three hours a night to sleep! He is really starting to run on empty so we are going to have to re-think parts of this schedule. The hardest part for me is trying to fit in visiting Golda. With feedings every three hours, it's not like you can make a quick trip to the hospital in between so it really needs planning in advance.
We have each figured out little tricks to get both babies to eat a little faster so that's helped, especially with the nighttime feeds. I know that most people on the triplet blogs feed multiple babies at once to save time, but these guys are so tiny that I can't figure out how we could manage that now. Hopefully when they get bigger we can try it.
Okay, that's it for now. Here is one photo from this morning for you
I went to visit Golda solo yesterday. It wasn't too bad since I got a great parking spot right at the end of the driveway. When I got upstairs the nurse was working on another baby so I was over there talking to her for a bit. She reported that Golda had another couple of episodes so they checked her caffeine level and found it low. They gave her a bolus dose (large dose at once) to increase it, then ordered her routine level increased as well. Her hematocrit was low so she received a transfusion of packed red blood cells. And they stopped her supplemental lipids. I then scrubbed and headed over to Golda. The new attending stopped me to discuss her care. He showed me her g-tube site and explained their concerns. I explained that it really was looking much better than it had been. He was happy to hear that since most of her care providers are new they weren't able to make that determination themselves. He also gave me some news that wasn't too welcome. Golda's surgeon, the expert on esophageal atresia reconstruction, is apparently in the military and has been called to active duty. He leaves for Iraq in six weeks (too soon for Golda to have her surgery) and won't be back for at least a year! That means someone else will be doing her reconstruction, possibly Dr. Dolgin, the head of pediatric surgery, which wouldn't be too worrisome for me. The attending said he would arrange a consult for us with whomever the team thought should take over her case. I then finally made it over to Golda and sat with her for all of three minutes before they closed the room for a new admission. I waited over an hour to get back in, but they said it would stay closed at least until shift change at 7 pm (which is when visiting hours end until 9 pm) so I left very disappointed.
The morning report for Golda was good. She had a good night with no more episodes - the new dose of caffeine is obviously doing the trick! She is now up to 15 ml of breast milk with human milk fortifier so I am hoping she will start putting on the grams now. She is up to 1374 g (3 lbs. 0.46 oz.) which is reassuring. She also got her blood transfusion and the nurse said is looking a lot less pale. Today is Tuesday and that means it's sibling visitation day so we will be going up to visit with Harry later on (photos to follow!).
We are getting into the swing of things with Leah and Micah. The main problem with our current schedule is that it leaves Jon about three hours a night to sleep! He is really starting to run on empty so we are going to have to re-think parts of this schedule. The hardest part for me is trying to fit in visiting Golda. With feedings every three hours, it's not like you can make a quick trip to the hospital in between so it really needs planning in advance.
We have each figured out little tricks to get both babies to eat a little faster so that's helped, especially with the nighttime feeds. I know that most people on the triplet blogs feed multiple babies at once to save time, but these guys are so tiny that I can't figure out how we could manage that now. Hopefully when they get bigger we can try it.
Okay, that's it for now. Here is one photo from this morning for you
and here is one from yesterday showing the BBB in action - that's Best Big Brother to the rest of you!
Monday, October 13, 2008
Day 26 Update 2 - PHOTOS!!!
I decided that the best way to post the photos was to put them on Picasa. That way I don't have to worry about them being too large for this site or decide which ones I like best!
http://picasaweb.google.com/WindyNYC/Day19UpdateHomecomingPartI#
http://picasaweb.google.com/WindyNYC/MicahS1stBath#
http://picasaweb.google.com/WindyNYC/LeahSHomecoming?authkey=a3gRBq08rjk#
http://picasaweb.google.com/WindyNYC/LeahS1stBath?authkey=BYjcnbT4R3M#
Enjoy!
http://picasaweb.google.com/WindyNYC/Day19UpdateHomecomingPartI#
http://picasaweb.google.com/WindyNYC/MicahS1stBath#
http://picasaweb.google.com/WindyNYC/LeahSHomecoming?authkey=a3gRBq08rjk#
http://picasaweb.google.com/WindyNYC/LeahS1stBath?authkey=BYjcnbT4R3M#
Enjoy!
Day 26 Update
Good Morning! Happy Columbus Day. I have about 45 minutes before the next round of feedings and probably much less before Harry realizes I have left the room!
Golda is making progress! She has reached 1360 g (2 lbs. 15.97 oz.) - just about the 3 pound mark!! Woo Hoo! Her feeds are up to 12 ml over an hour every three hours and since she is eating so much now, they are stopping her supplemental lipids. The nurse practitioner for surgery came by to examine Golda and said that since the G-tube site isn't hot or hard it is fine and not showing signs of infection even though it's red. The doctors are a little concerned about infection though since she had two episodes this morning of apnea and bradycardia (low heart rate) which can be brought on by infection. They are running blood and urine cultures, a blood cell count and caffeine level check. The caffeine level check is because she has gained so much weight, the dose they are giving her may not be adequate any more. The cultures will be final in 48 hours, but we will have preliminary results before then. Oh, and two bowel movements over night, so at least her digestive system is working well! At some point today I will be going to visit her.
Leah and Micah were not too hungry last night. Micah woke for his feedings every three hours, but really needing coaxing to finish his bottles. Leah ate about half of her bottles then conked out. I'm not worrying too much about her since she did this in the hospital every few days too - that's why we didn't think she was coming home when she did - but she then rebounded and increased how much she ate and then grew. And Micah rebounds every few feedings so I won't worry about that either!
Harry is doing okay. He is enjoying having today off from school, but not looking forward to doing his homework - "why I always gotta have homework??!?!" We will do it shortly though. He has been trying to be very helpful these last couple of days. He comes running whenever we change a diaper and is eager to put it in the Diaper Genie and he really helped out last night during bath time. His biggest problem is that he doesn't realize how strong he is and how fragile the babies are and so we have to really watch him when he is around them, but he is really shaping up to be a great big brother.
Okay, I have actually transferred photos from the memory cards to this computer so I am making progress on the eventual uploading of said photos. Perhaps today?
Golda is making progress! She has reached 1360 g (2 lbs. 15.97 oz.) - just about the 3 pound mark!! Woo Hoo! Her feeds are up to 12 ml over an hour every three hours and since she is eating so much now, they are stopping her supplemental lipids. The nurse practitioner for surgery came by to examine Golda and said that since the G-tube site isn't hot or hard it is fine and not showing signs of infection even though it's red. The doctors are a little concerned about infection though since she had two episodes this morning of apnea and bradycardia (low heart rate) which can be brought on by infection. They are running blood and urine cultures, a blood cell count and caffeine level check. The caffeine level check is because she has gained so much weight, the dose they are giving her may not be adequate any more. The cultures will be final in 48 hours, but we will have preliminary results before then. Oh, and two bowel movements over night, so at least her digestive system is working well! At some point today I will be going to visit her.
Leah and Micah were not too hungry last night. Micah woke for his feedings every three hours, but really needing coaxing to finish his bottles. Leah ate about half of her bottles then conked out. I'm not worrying too much about her since she did this in the hospital every few days too - that's why we didn't think she was coming home when she did - but she then rebounded and increased how much she ate and then grew. And Micah rebounds every few feedings so I won't worry about that either!
Harry is doing okay. He is enjoying having today off from school, but not looking forward to doing his homework - "why I always gotta have homework??!?!" We will do it shortly though. He has been trying to be very helpful these last couple of days. He comes running whenever we change a diaper and is eager to put it in the Diaper Genie and he really helped out last night during bath time. His biggest problem is that he doesn't realize how strong he is and how fragile the babies are and so we have to really watch him when he is around them, but he is really shaping up to be a great big brother.
Okay, I have actually transferred photos from the memory cards to this computer so I am making progress on the eventual uploading of said photos. Perhaps today?
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Day 25 Update
Good Morning! I am finally getting back up to date! I have about 15 minutes until the next feeding. Harry and Jon are rushing around getting ready to leave for the pumpkin picking trip. Harry is very excited; Jon? Not so much, lol. But they should have a good time. The farm they are going to is in the Bronx and has apples and pumpkins - jack-o-lanterns here we come!
I just called to check on Golda. She had a good night. The only episodes she has had were of desaturation of her blood oxygen and then she only needed to be suctioned (have her saliva suctioned) and then her levels came right back up. They have increased her feeds to 9 ml for four feeds, then at 10 pm tonight she will increase to 10 ml!!! So nice that they are going to increase her faster than 1 ml a day. She is now weighing 1314 g (2 lbs 14.34 oz.) - closing in on the 3 lb mark! I don't know how today will shape up but I am hoping that I will make it to the hospital tonight at some point to visit her.
Leah and Micah were enjoying their second night home together. Daddy sat on the couch last night holding both of them and they migrated closer together so they were touching. It was very cute to see Micah patting Leah's head and Leah reaching for her brother. Sometimes they even answer each other's squeaks.
According to Daddy they weren't the best eaters last night. Micah didn't finish his bottle and Leah took forever finishing hers. Big thanks are in order for Daddy too - he took both the 11 om and the 2 am feedings so I go to sleep through both! When I got them at 5 am though Micah was trying to eat his hands he was so hungry! And for the 8 am feeding Micah ate 90 ml and Leah ate 70 ml! They both looked quite content afterwards and fell asleep shortly. They are really starting to spend some time after most feedings awake and alert - looking all around and taking everything in. It's kind of nice to be able to look into their eyes (both sets blue, by the way).
Okay, I will try to use one of my breaks in between feedings today to post some photos!
I just called to check on Golda. She had a good night. The only episodes she has had were of desaturation of her blood oxygen and then she only needed to be suctioned (have her saliva suctioned) and then her levels came right back up. They have increased her feeds to 9 ml for four feeds, then at 10 pm tonight she will increase to 10 ml!!! So nice that they are going to increase her faster than 1 ml a day. She is now weighing 1314 g (2 lbs 14.34 oz.) - closing in on the 3 lb mark! I don't know how today will shape up but I am hoping that I will make it to the hospital tonight at some point to visit her.
Leah and Micah were enjoying their second night home together. Daddy sat on the couch last night holding both of them and they migrated closer together so they were touching. It was very cute to see Micah patting Leah's head and Leah reaching for her brother. Sometimes they even answer each other's squeaks.
According to Daddy they weren't the best eaters last night. Micah didn't finish his bottle and Leah took forever finishing hers. Big thanks are in order for Daddy too - he took both the 11 om and the 2 am feedings so I go to sleep through both! When I got them at 5 am though Micah was trying to eat his hands he was so hungry! And for the 8 am feeding Micah ate 90 ml and Leah ate 70 ml! They both looked quite content afterwards and fell asleep shortly. They are really starting to spend some time after most feedings awake and alert - looking all around and taking everything in. It's kind of nice to be able to look into their eyes (both sets blue, by the way).
Okay, I will try to use one of my breaks in between feedings today to post some photos!
Day 24 Update - Belated
Hi Everyone! Again, sorry for the delay in posting. Saturday was almost as crazy as Friday. We started the day by finishing up the 8 am feedings and getting dressed for Leah's 9:30 am pediatrician appointment. She was pronounced a healthy baby, now weighing 3 lbs. 14.5 oz. She got her hep B shot so we can try to keep her and Micah, at least, on the same vaccination schedule. The doctor said that the ridiculous amount she poops is actually a good sign and shows that she is very healthy (grr). Our next visit for both of them is November 11 - their original due date!
After the appointment we headed home for the 11 am feeding and then handed the babies over to Mema and Harry while we ran to our doctor for flu shots. Auntie came over too to help with the feedings while we were gone. Since we were out that way, we used the time to visit Golda as well. She was doing very well. The day before they had told me that surgery was coming up to put a stitch back in to her g-tube (there was a stitch holding the g-tube to her skin on the outside that came loose). I was quite glad I had to leave and wouldn't be there for that since I wouldn't have been able to comfort her during or right after and hearing her cry would have been too much. Well, it turns out that surgery re-considered this plan and did not put the stitch back in after all. The original surgeon we spoke to prior to their birth said that he didn't want it done since it would just irritate her skin further and wasn't 100% percent necessary. They put this plastic support on her belly with tape to hold the g-tube in a perpendicular position so as to allow her skin to fully heal and it's working well.
As of yesterday, Golda was still off her CPAP with no episodes! She was taking 8 ml of breast milk over an hour every three hours and weighed 1284 g (2 lbs. 13.29oz.). When we visited, the nurse told me that the surgical team authorized them to increase her feedings in larger increments or more frequently than once a day! She cautioned though that the medical team taking care of her tended to be a bit more conservative so it might not happen right away, but should start happening soon. This was great news since I realized that at 1 ml a day it would take her two months at the least to reach the "full feed" status of 60 ml.
I haven't called for today's (Day 25) report yet, but I will post again at some point today with more info! Today should be interesting - Harry has a class pumpkin picking trip with his Sunday School and Jon is going and driving some other people as well. That means I will be flying solo for a while. I plan to use the in between time to try to get some photos posted and to rest.
After the appointment we headed home for the 11 am feeding and then handed the babies over to Mema and Harry while we ran to our doctor for flu shots. Auntie came over too to help with the feedings while we were gone. Since we were out that way, we used the time to visit Golda as well. She was doing very well. The day before they had told me that surgery was coming up to put a stitch back in to her g-tube (there was a stitch holding the g-tube to her skin on the outside that came loose). I was quite glad I had to leave and wouldn't be there for that since I wouldn't have been able to comfort her during or right after and hearing her cry would have been too much. Well, it turns out that surgery re-considered this plan and did not put the stitch back in after all. The original surgeon we spoke to prior to their birth said that he didn't want it done since it would just irritate her skin further and wasn't 100% percent necessary. They put this plastic support on her belly with tape to hold the g-tube in a perpendicular position so as to allow her skin to fully heal and it's working well.
As of yesterday, Golda was still off her CPAP with no episodes! She was taking 8 ml of breast milk over an hour every three hours and weighed 1284 g (2 lbs. 13.29oz.). When we visited, the nurse told me that the surgical team authorized them to increase her feedings in larger increments or more frequently than once a day! She cautioned though that the medical team taking care of her tended to be a bit more conservative so it might not happen right away, but should start happening soon. This was great news since I realized that at 1 ml a day it would take her two months at the least to reach the "full feed" status of 60 ml.
I haven't called for today's (Day 25) report yet, but I will post again at some point today with more info! Today should be interesting - Harry has a class pumpkin picking trip with his Sunday School and Jon is going and driving some other people as well. That means I will be flying solo for a while. I plan to use the in between time to try to get some photos posted and to rest.
Day 23 Update - Belated - Homecoming Part II
Good Morning Everyone! I am sorry this posting is two days late, but as you can imagine from the title, things have been a little bit crazy around here! As I posted Friday morning, the nurse said that she hadn't heard anything about Leah coming home. She said it would probably be a few more days and so we had planned a day full of chores with quick visits to Leah and Golda. I signed off saying I was hitting the showers.
Well, when I came out of the shower I heard Jon on the phone saying "Today? She's discharged and coming home today?!?!?" Needless to say we were quite surprised, happily surprised, but surprised nonetheless! Apparently one of Leah's doctors was on the phone explaining that she really was doing so well that she could come home that day. She had even been evaluated by neurodevelopment and they said she didn't need any early intervention at this point! Well. Do I need to tell you how this threw the day's plans in the trash?!!? We quickly got dressed and ran our errands - dropped off prescriptions, ran to Babies R Us to get things Leah would need once she was home, picked up Mema from the train so she could watch Harry and Micah while we were out, grabbed some food for lunch. Then we quickly stopped by to see Golda, who was doing very well and finally made it to the hospital to feed Leah her 5 pm bottle, sign all the paper work and take our little girl home!!!
She has been doing very well at home. She's a slow eater (she spends most of her time pooping!) so we have been feeding Micah first, then Leah. All in all it takes about an hour and 15 minutes to feed and change them both - add in bottle prep and / or pumping and there is just enough time to hit the bathrooms in between feedings!
Well, when I came out of the shower I heard Jon on the phone saying "Today? She's discharged and coming home today?!?!?" Needless to say we were quite surprised, happily surprised, but surprised nonetheless! Apparently one of Leah's doctors was on the phone explaining that she really was doing so well that she could come home that day. She had even been evaluated by neurodevelopment and they said she didn't need any early intervention at this point! Well. Do I need to tell you how this threw the day's plans in the trash?!!? We quickly got dressed and ran our errands - dropped off prescriptions, ran to Babies R Us to get things Leah would need once she was home, picked up Mema from the train so she could watch Harry and Micah while we were out, grabbed some food for lunch. Then we quickly stopped by to see Golda, who was doing very well and finally made it to the hospital to feed Leah her 5 pm bottle, sign all the paper work and take our little girl home!!!
She has been doing very well at home. She's a slow eater (she spends most of her time pooping!) so we have been feeding Micah first, then Leah. All in all it takes about an hour and 15 minutes to feed and change them both - add in bottle prep and / or pumping and there is just enough time to hit the bathrooms in between feedings!
Friday, October 10, 2008
Day 22 Update
Good Morning! Of course since we decided to try to get out earlier today, we are still in the house at 11:05 am, but nevertheless, here is today's update!
Leah had a good night. She was eating very well and is up to 50 ml each feeding. She has been maintaining her temperature steadily in her bassinet and last night she passed her car seat challenge! She also put on quite a few grams over night - she must have been listening to her mommy when I told her she needs to pack on the weight in order to come home! She now weighs 1695 g (3 lbs. 11.78 oz.). The nurse said they haven't mentioned her coming home though. When I asked, she said they usually like to wait until they are 4 lbs or just about before releasing them, so maybe in another few days.
Golda also had a good night. She was taken off her CPAP!!! She has only had one episode of desaturation which is the same as she was having while on it. Since she is still premature she is still allowed to have the episodes and remain off the CPAP. If they start to increase again, then they will put her back on it. The caffeine they are giving her is helping decrease the episodes as well. She is now up to 7 ml of breast milk over an hour every three hours and is 1277 g (2 lbs. 13.04 oz.).
Micah was a good boy last night too. He starts to squeak and squirm about 15 minutes before a feeding time. Not too loud, just enough to wake Mommy. I get up and get his bottle ready and by the time I have changed him and have the bottle in hand he is getting to the point of thinking about crying. Since we changed the nipples on the bottles to level 1's and removed the preemie nipples he is eating better too. Unfortunately we don't have a scale to measure his weight gain daily, but he does look bigger than when we brought him home, which is comforting.
I spoke to the Mohel today about scheduling Micah's bris. The Mohel said he doesn't do them until the baby weighs at least 5 lbs so we have a bit of a wait. I am supposed to call him when Micah is getting close to 5 lbs so we can set a date. I will let you know when we have!
Harrison is doing well too. He was off from school yesterday and hung out with Micah and Mema while we went to see the girls. His behavior has improved somewhat since we have fallen into more of a pattern in our schedule too. He is trying to be less fresh and has really been trying to helpful - sometimes too helpful ;)
Okay, off to the showers now!
Leah had a good night. She was eating very well and is up to 50 ml each feeding. She has been maintaining her temperature steadily in her bassinet and last night she passed her car seat challenge! She also put on quite a few grams over night - she must have been listening to her mommy when I told her she needs to pack on the weight in order to come home! She now weighs 1695 g (3 lbs. 11.78 oz.). The nurse said they haven't mentioned her coming home though. When I asked, she said they usually like to wait until they are 4 lbs or just about before releasing them, so maybe in another few days.
Golda also had a good night. She was taken off her CPAP!!! She has only had one episode of desaturation which is the same as she was having while on it. Since she is still premature she is still allowed to have the episodes and remain off the CPAP. If they start to increase again, then they will put her back on it. The caffeine they are giving her is helping decrease the episodes as well. She is now up to 7 ml of breast milk over an hour every three hours and is 1277 g (2 lbs. 13.04 oz.).
Micah was a good boy last night too. He starts to squeak and squirm about 15 minutes before a feeding time. Not too loud, just enough to wake Mommy. I get up and get his bottle ready and by the time I have changed him and have the bottle in hand he is getting to the point of thinking about crying. Since we changed the nipples on the bottles to level 1's and removed the preemie nipples he is eating better too. Unfortunately we don't have a scale to measure his weight gain daily, but he does look bigger than when we brought him home, which is comforting.
I spoke to the Mohel today about scheduling Micah's bris. The Mohel said he doesn't do them until the baby weighs at least 5 lbs so we have a bit of a wait. I am supposed to call him when Micah is getting close to 5 lbs so we can set a date. I will let you know when we have!
Harrison is doing well too. He was off from school yesterday and hung out with Micah and Mema while we went to see the girls. His behavior has improved somewhat since we have fallen into more of a pattern in our schedule too. He is trying to be less fresh and has really been trying to helpful - sometimes too helpful ;)
Okay, off to the showers now!
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Day 21 Update
Hi Everyone! Even though we didn't fast this year (for obvious reasons) I didn't feel right posting earlier today so here is today's posting.
Micah is doing well at home. He isn't the quick eater he was in the NICU and is taking a bit longer, especially at night, to make it through his bottle, but he is still getting it all down. We have increased him to 60 ml at each feed, too. We had his first pediatrician appointment yesterday. He was pronounced a healthy baby. The only thing they said we should do differently for him as opposed to a full term baby is to limit the amount of people that handle him since he is so susceptible to everything as a preemie (the same with go for Leah and Golda too). So, I will say here (for the first, but definitely not the last time) if you are in any way sick - your throat has a tickle, your kid is sick, you're just getting over something - please do not come here! Some "colds" that we get as adults and kids are caused by something called RSV. RSV is the most common reason for a preemie to be readmitted to the NICU and the most common cause of death in this population. So, again, please stay away if you even think you might be getting something.
We then headed over to Golda. She was out cold, sleeping so peacefully when we got there. She was "eating" - now 6 ml over an hour! The nurse said that she made a huge "diaper blowout" poopie today, all by herself, no glycerin suppositories necessary. And she had only one episode of desats between last night and today. Her weight was also the same as the night before - 1220 g (2 lbs. 11 oz.) Slow, but steady improvements.
I will try to post some photos tomorrow. Too tired now to try ;) Oh, and I have migrated the journal to its new home:
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Day 20 Update
Good Morning! First of all, Micah is home!!! Woo Hoo! So, now for the update. Yesterday we went to visit Golda. She was doing well, mostly sleeping. Her face changed a little and she looks a somewhat more hearty since she has started on breast milk. She is also a bit more alert, focusing with both eyes for a minute or two on an object, which slightly alleviates our worries about any disabilities she may have. Last night she had two more episodes where her oxygen level and her heart rate dropped and didn't come back up until they stimulated her. I asked about this since it was the first time in a while that her heart rate dropped too and the nurse explained that they are "allowed" to do this until they reach what would have been full term (November 11). She said that the night nurse thought it might also be related to her Anderson tube - something I have been telling them for the last couple of days - she has been gagging on her tube as though it isn't in properly and the tube actually comes out of her mouth a little bit when she gags. The nurses have fixed it and shown it to the doctors but no one has thought it a problem until last night. I am hoping they do something about it before I get there this afternoon. If not, I will get it done while I am there! Anyway, Golda is still on her CPAP on room air and is eating 4 ml of breast milk over an hour every three hours. She weighs 1226 g (2 lbs. 11.24 oz.).
Leah is doing well. I breast fed her yesterday, but she was way too sleepy to do a good job of eating so Daddy took over with her bottle while I got discharge instructions for Micah. Poor Daddy - he got stuck changing her poopie diapers twice (and was saved from another one by the nurse)! She is now eating 45 ml of breast milk and weighs 1640 g (3 lbs. 9.84 oz.).
Micah ate well while still in the NICU and looked adorable in his little home-coming outfit. We have appointments for him with an opthalmologist, the neurodevelopmental clinic and the high risk clinic over the next month, in addition to his pediatrician today at 1 pm. These are all just routine evaluations that all preemies undergo and in fact, for some of them, they made appointments for all three babies (or any that are home in time).
We got Micahhome around 5:30 pm last night. Mema, Pepa and Harrison were waiting for us upstairs. Harry was very excited to see his brother coming in. Mema fed Micah his bottle while Pepa played with Harry. Mommy and Daddy finished getting their bedroom ready to share with Micah. When Micah was ready for his 8 pm bottle, Big Brother Harrison stepped up! He sat on the couch, cradled his little brother and fed him almost all of his bottle! I will post photos later (they are on Mema's camera). He did a great job and was declared the Best Big Brother - BBB according to Harry! And to re-inforce that title, he kept trying to change poopie diapers, but of course, we didn't let him do that... yet. Then it was quiet time and we all laid down in our bed to watch the debate - needless to say, Harry fell promptly asleep.
The first night with Micah at home went relatively well. We set an alarm for every three hours since he still needs to eat that often and can't skip meals yet but it turned out that wasn't necessary. Micah started squeaking pretty loudly and woke me up each time. We were both up for the 11 pm feeding, then I went to sleep and Jon got the bottle ready for the 2 am feeding. I fed Micah while Jon went to sleep. That feeding and the 11 pm one took quite a while and had me wondering what was going on. When I got up for the 5 am feeding I decided to try using the Level 1 nipple on the bottle instead of the preemie level nipple. That seemed to do the trick! Micah ate faster and didn't lose interest as easily as with the other nipple and finished before an hour. As I finished up the 5 am feeding Jon woke up to get Harry ready for school and I went back to sleep. Harry was very good, not making too much noise so he wouldn't "wake our baby". I guess waking Mommy is okay though! I woke up when Jon and Harry left for school to get ready for the 8 am feeding. We're gonna have to work on this schedule since I can see it being problematic when there are two and three to feed in the middle of the night and it takes more than an hour to do, but for now it's okay. No point in changing everything up when Leah should be home in a few days anyway!
Okay, I gotta go and get the 11am feeding started! So nice to have one of my babies home!
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Day 19 Update - Homecoming, Part I
Hi Everyone! We are getting ready to head out to the hospitals so I will be brief. We are going to visit Golda first today, then head over to North Shore to see Leah and take her brother home!!!
Golda had a great night. When I left her yesterday she had just finished 3 ml of breast milk, given over an hour and was making faces that made me think she was trying to make a poopie. I mentioned it to her nurse who said she would keep checking her diaper to see if we got a surprise. Well, we got one this morning! Around 7 am she passed some more meconium (the first poop most babies pass after birth) and then when I called just after 9 am, I had to hold on because her nurse was cleaning her huge poopie diaper!! So, that says that everything from stomach down is functioning as it should! Quite the relief (both for us and, I would imagine, for Golda too!) to know we have averted one big complication. Golda is still on her CPAP and breathing room air. She now weighs 1180 g (2 lbs. 9.62 oz.) and hopefully that will continue to increase since they have increased her feeds to 4 ml over an hour every three hours!
Leah now weighs 1625 g (3 lbs. 9.25 oz.). She ate 45 ml of breast milk this morning, but burped up some of it, so they have limited her to 40 ml at a time for now. She is off the human milk fortifier so that means that if she continues to gain adequate weight over the next three days, she could be coming home! She is estimated to be released between the 10th and the 15th.
Micah now weighs 2090 g (4 lbs. 9.72 oz.). He took 55 ml at his last feed, but burped some up, so they are limiting him to 50 ml at a time too. The nurse said that shouldn't interfere with his discharge today, but that they had to let the doctors know since burping up food could be an early sign of sickness (grr). But, again, he is still scheduled to come home today.
Okay, gotta go! I will try to update later to at least confirm that Micah is home, otherwise, more tomorrow!
Monday, October 6, 2008
Day 18 Update
Good Morning Everyone! The top news today is that the doctor has said Micah will be going home tomorrow afternoon!!! We will have follow up appointments with neurodevelopmental and eye doctors, routine for preemies, and of course with our pediatricians, but he will be out of the hospital!!! Micah is now weighing 2050 g (4 lbs. 8.31 oz.) and eating at least 45 ml at a time.
Leah is still eating fortified breast milk - 40 ml at a time. She needs to be off the fortification for three days and still gaining weight to come home. We were told that would probably be end of this week, beginning of next week. She weighs 1575 g (3 lbs. 7.55 oz.).
Golda is still doing well. She remains on CPAP on room air but has had no episodes of desats over night! I am figuring she will stay on the CPAP for at least today, probably longer, to give her a chance to rest up without dropping her oxygen level, but this is only my guess. She was increased to 2 ml of breast milk over an hour every three hours yesterday and has been handling it well - no residuals, lots of urine, no increase in abdomen circumference. No poopies yet, but we are waiting for that confirmation that all is working as it should be!
That's all for now. I am sure things will get a lot more hectic before they calm down now that Micah will be the only triplet home so please excuse me if I miss an update or if we don't answer the phone! We will be dealing with Harry and Micah at home, Leah at North Shore and Golda at LIJ for a week at least, so we are expecting to be quite exhausted (but it will be so worth it!)! Oh, and I will be speaking to the doctor and mohel today to find out when Micah can have his bris. More details on that when we have them.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Day 17 Update
Good Morning. Not too much to add from yesterday's second update except weights really. Golda has been on breast milk since 10 am yesterday and she has been tolerating it well. There are no residuals in her tummy when it's time for her next feed so we are assuming the healed up stomach is doing it's job (we have to wait for the "evidence" to appear in her diaper in a few days to be sure). She only had two episodes of desaturating over night. She is still on CPAP on room air. Her weight is 1141 g (2 lbs. 8.24 oz.) which is pretty much the same as the day before (1147 g).
Leah is still in her bassinet, maintaining her body temperature nicely. She is still eating 30 ml of fortified breast milk, but they haven't rounded on her yet so we don't know if they will increase that today or not. She weighs 1150 g (3 lbs. 6.67 oz.)
Micah is still our best eater! The nurse prepared 50 ml of breast milk for him, figuring he will eat 40 ml, but then he burped and finished the rest! All that eating has him weighing 2020 g (4 lbs. 7.25 oz.).
I will be visiting them all today, and trying to nurse Leah and Micah. So, more later!
One other point, I don't know if you have noticed, but the ads at the top of this page have been indicating that AOL Journals will be closing down soon. I am in the process of trying to migrate over to blogspot. I will send out the new address when it's all ready to go!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
