Day 12 - just another day in the NICU

We slept over at the hospital last night because of the freezing rain.  I gave James  a bottle at 2 am because he was wide awake and he drank about half.  The rest was given to him through his tube.  We are finding that the nurses are really keen on getting the babies, especially James, to breast and bottle feed but there is a find line between helping him learn to feed orally and over exerting him so that he doesn't gain weight.  It's hard to know what is best for him, and also hard to go against the nurses suggestions because we want him to have more time to rest.

All in all it was a pretty typical day.  We snuck  out for a few hours in the morning to go Christmas shopping which has left me totally exhausted.  Brian is going to have to do the rest, hopefully there isn't too much more because it means he has to be away from me and the babies.  

We are staying over at the hospital again tonight and Brian is going to give Josie a bath when we go back in to visit with them at 8 pm.  

I am a little worried about our holiday committeements over the next few days.  I am still in a lot of pain and I get tired very easily.  It's also hard to imagine celebrating Christmas away from our little ones.  I think it is going to be an exhausting and emotional few days but hopefully we will be able to get back into our routine with them soon.  

Day 11 - the highlight of my life as a mom!

Tonight I was alone at the hospital and when I went to go see them they were both awake but not restless.  I got to hold both babies for an hour while they got tube fed and then fell asleep in my arms.  It was the highlight on my life as a mom so far!  Also, our nurse, Antella, enjoyed helping me with my photoshoot so much last night that the two of us did a second photoshoot tonight!  

In other great news.  Both babies gained weight today and Josie maintained her temperature so she gets to stay in her big girl bed!  

Day 11- grow Josie grow!

The babies are now 10 days old!

James is now 4 lbs 8 oz.  so he has lost 7% of his birth weight.  It is common for babies to loose up to 10%.  Here in the NICU they start to worry if the babies loose more than 8%.  It is unlikely that James will loose anymore.  He is breast feeding like a champ and had his first bottle feed last night.  In the last 2 days he has had 3 full oral feeds (nothing given through his NG tube ).  In order to go home he has to be able to take all his feeds orally.  The new schedule for him is to breast feed at 8 am, 2 pm and 8 pm.  After Brest feeding he will be "topped up" either through his NG tube (if he is tired) or with a bottle (if he is awake).  At 2 am he will take a bottle.  On all other feeds he will be fed through his NG tube (11 am, 5 pm , 11 pm and 5am ).  This allows him to rest in between breast/bottle feeding so that he can continue to grow big and strong!

Josie has been steadily gaining weight and is currently 3 lbs 14 oz which is  2 oz bigger than her birthweight!  She is however in the 3rd percentile for her gestational age so they have recommended starting her on a breast milk fortifier.   This will give her extra protein so that she can catch up to her big brother.  The lactation consultant recommended this a few days ago and I met with the dietician this morning.  Now that Josie is 10 days old she can start it.  The dietician said that the fortifier will make it much more likely that they will be able to go home at the same time!

They temporarily moved Josie into a big girl bed so they could do some electrical maintenance.  She is technically a bit to small for it, but I bundled her up well and they've said that if she can maintain her temperature she will get to stay in it.  

I won't pretend that having twins in the NICU is not challenging, emotionally more than anything else.  However, our babies are getting the most amazing care here.  Everyone who helps with them goes out of their way and they are so great about teaching us what to do when we get to being them home!

We have also been so blessed by the amenities provided by the Ronald McDonald Children's Charity.  They have a great lounge for family to use with TV, comfy chairs and snacks.  They also have sleeping rooms where we can go for a nap or stay over night if we want to. It may not sound like much, but having these options available to us is amazing!

Thank you to everyone who is reading our blog and following along with us.  It means a lot to us and to our babies.  We can't wait for you all to meet them!

Xoxo

Michelle 

Day 10- their first photo shoot!!!

So JJ endured their first photoshoot tonight.  We bought a new camera which ended up being terrible.  Here are a few pics I took with my iPhone.  I think we will invest in a good DSLR come Boxing Day so that I can continue with my photo shoots!

Day 10 - great morning!

So after my pity party last night I am happy to say that my babies had their best feed yet this morning. One of the nurses, who happens to be neighbours with Goodwillie cousins, helped me to tandem feed for the first time (as in both babies at once).  Both babies did so well!  James drank so much that they didn't have to top up his feed through his NG tube!  I am definitely feeling a lot better about my role as mom this morning!

Day 9 - rough day

So today was a pretty rough day for me.  The twins are not gaining weight like they should be and everyone has a well intentioned, but contrasting opinion about what I should do about it.  The hospital has a fantastic lactation consultant whose advice seems to be the best so I am going to go from there.  The babies are now going to be breast feeding less and not taken out of their beds as much so that they can focus on resting and getting bigger.

So tonight is my first night away from them.  It's nice to be home in my own bed but it's sad to be away from them.  Pair that with post- parttem hormones and I am pretty much a big mess right now.  

On a happier note here is James rocking his Syracuse colours!

Day 9 - playing dress up!

Today we put the twins in really cute little premie sleepers.  About 2 minutes after I put James in his he threw up all over it.  

Josie on the other hand has been wearing hers all day and looks adorable!  

The twins have been put on a new feeding plan because they are not gaining weight.  The hope is that if we feed them through their tube more often then they don't have to work as hard and will be able to plump up.  We are going from 4 oral feedings to 3 so I no longer have to stay over night at the hospital to breast feed them at 2 am.  I am excited to sleep in my own bed, but a bit anxious about leaving them.  I'm not worried about them, they are getting amazing care, I just worry that I will miss them too much.