Busy, Busy, Busy

Today was a very busy day for Mr. Jack and Miss Harper. Here’s a quick run down of the excitement:

 

Harper:

-Moved to a low flow nasal cannula (and is doing well- Go Harper)

-Was visited by the occupational therapist for a check of tone and range of motion (she did well)

-Got to nurse today for the first time since Jan. 24^th and she latched and remembered what to do

-Got an extra special visit with Nana. Nana got to hold her while she ate her lunch

-Finished her day with some snuggle time with Dad

 

Jack:

-Was visited by the occupational therapist for a check and she was impressed with his skills

-Got to nurse today and nursed for about 15 min; he also took a bottle and finished almost all of it

-Got an extra special visit with Pop. Pop got to hold him while he ate his lunch and took a nap (and snored)

-Got a bath from Mom with Nana and Pop’s assistance. He liked his bath today because the water was warm and cozy; he didn’t cry or fuss at all

As you can see, I couldn’t pick just one photo- so here’s a montage of the day! 

You Give Me Something To Belive In

Today was a good day with the kids; it was the kind of day Tony and I have been hoping for. I was hesitant to write in praise of the day we had because I didn’t want to jinx us for tomorrow, but I have come to realize that I need to celebrate the good days without fear.

Harper and I got to snuggle today and she did great. She only had a few desaturations and that was when she was wiggling around or I was moving her and when she did d-sat, she popped right back up. It was amazing to be able to hold my daughter without the fear that every alarm that beeped was for her; I didn’t have to stare at her the whole 90 min to see if she was taking deep breaths- I could hear her breathing and I knew she was taking good breaths and it was wonderful.

Jack got to spend his time with his dad today- complete with some kangaroo care. Tony said that Jack did well and showed his appreciation for his dad by spitting up on him and having a dirty diaper. Way to go, Jack!  In other news, he has officially outgrown some of his preemie clothes and I’m getting newborn items ready to take to the NICU. I can’t believe my little man is almost 5 lbs; grow, buddy, grow!

Picture of the day today goes to Miss Harper sporting her new hat with a stylish bow.

Bassinets All Round

Tony and I walked into the NICU today and were very surprised to see little Miss Harper; her room seemed much bigger than when we left yesterday. As we approached her bed, we realized the reason her room seemed bigger is because she got rid of the isolette that took up the whole bay she’s in. Instead, our girl is, like brother, in an open-air bassinet. This means that she’s maintaining her body temperature and is over 4 lbs; she actually gained 70 grams last night and now weighs in at 4lbs 4 oz. (remember she was just 2 lbs 7 oz. a few weeks ago). She is still on oxygen, but has been weaned down to 21%- which is room air. She seems to be doing well with her breathing and it’s wonderful to see both of our kiddos growing so big.

In other news, today was vision testing day. The pediatric ophthalmologist came by and examined Jack’s eyes and Harper’s eyes. This involves dilating their eyes and looking to see if the retina is fully formed. As the nurse practitioner predicted, both our kiddos have under developed retinas (which was expected since they are preemies), but aside from that no other problems with their eyes as of now.  We will have another check up in 4 weeks to see where the kiddos stand then. After their eye exams, Tony and I decided it was best to let the kids rest and recoup. Tomorrow we hope they’ll be in good spirits! 

Father/Daughter Day

Today, Tony got the opportunity to hold Harper again- two days in a row with Miss Harper. I was holding my breath hoping that Harper would have a good day with her breathing. I know she worries both of us, but Tony especially worries about his little girl and it’s hard on him when she has bad days. Today, thankfully, was a good day for Miss Harper.  They enjoyed their time together; Tony said she made little cooing noises at him and was smiling at him. Tony better watch out or that little girl is going to have him wrapped around her finger (I think it may already be happening). I am so happy to report that Harper loved her time with her dad and did well with her breathing!

Meanwhile, Jack and I were nursing and snuggling. Something happened with Jack today that hasn’t happened in days, he had some breathing problems. Normally he’s the easy breather, but he was doing a lot of periodic breathing (where he’d breathe and then hold his breath and then pant to try and catch up on his breathing). It was a little scary because I just am not used to Jack having this problem. I hope it was because he was in such a deep sleep and this isn’t a habit. After waking from his nap, Jack got a bath. The jury is still out on whether he’ll take after his mom and not like baths, or take after his dad and enjoy the water. We shall see. Picture of the day goes to Jack Man in the tub!

A Much Needed Good Day

Today was a good day in the NICU! Tony had the day off, so we were able to spend some time together as a family of 4; it’s so neat to be able to hold the kids at the same time (even if the kids can’t see each other) and talk and feel like a little family.

While Tony was holding Harper today, they both felt more comfortable than earlier this week. Harper has been doing better on the high flow cannula, and Tony found a position that worked well for both of them. Check out pictures of this beautiful little girl with her very sweet little cheeks- she loves to cuddle with her dad.

Jack and I spent some time together today and I got to cuddle with him. He was hungry when we walked in, so I started nursing him- 20 minutes later he was just finishing up with me, and starting with his Gavage feeding. He had never nursed that long before and I even got him to burp when he was finished. The nurse also informed us that Jack took 21 ml of his bottle last night (a record for that little man). I’m not sure when it happened, but our little guy is getting so big. Here’s a picture of him getting all bundled up and ready to eat.

What a good day with our little ones- God is good!