The Frist Few Days After Birth

Today is the 14th. Jackson is 5 days old and Brady is 4 days old! The first few days have been bitter sweet for us. The pain of having natural and c-section deliveries at once is bitter, but the product of those deliveries is oh so sweet! I have been slowly healing in the hospital and learning how to take care of the boys. The healing process is slow, and it has its ups and downs. My abdomen is very tender and the incision which is held together by staples is sore. I also have other stiches that aren't so comfortable either. It is still difficult to get up and down and I am a really slow walker, but I am more and more active each day. In fact, today I took my second shower in a week and half (I know, gross...but doctor's orders are doctor's orders). My knees, ankles, and feet look like an elephant's because of all of the fluids I received. I ended up with three IV sites and bruises up and down my arms from where they took blood so many times. I am also very quickly producing milk for the babies which comes with its own set of discomforts. I actually had a lady come milk me yesterday to ease the soreness and help me learn more about breastfeeding. Most of you know me as being extremely modest, especially my family, but throughout this week and a half I have lost it all.

As I said in the last post, Brady and Jackson both needed some oxygen when they were first born. Within the first 24 hours, Jackson came completely off of breathing assistance and Brady went from oxygen to room air. Because Brady still needed some help on day two, he and Jackson were separated for a while when Jackson moved to the intermediate stage of the NICU. At the end of day two, Brady was reunited with his bother.

Now they are in isolets (incubators), which regualtes their temperature and organizes all of their cords. They have to be able to regulate their own temps to be able to come home. Right now, if you were to leave them out of their incubators, they would slowly lose the heat until they were really cold. When we hold them they either have to be bundled up with tobogons on or we have to hold them skin to skin (kangaroo care) in which case our bodies regulate the temp. We have both held them each way, and it is such a wonderful experience to hold them so close. Today I was holding Jackson kangaroo style, and his monitors kept saying he was holding his breath. The alarms were going off so the nurse thought that the sticky sensor on his chest had come part way off. When we lifted him up, we couldn't find the sensors. Then we realized they had gotten stuck to me! I was holding MY breath! We had a good laugh at that. Their monitors, which are just wires stuck to their chests, keep track of heart rate, rate of breathing, and their oxygen saturation.

They have both lost weight, which is completely normal for any baby, and are now both under 4 lbs. They will gain weight soon enough, another criteria for coming home. I watched Jackson get weighed yesterday.....3 lbs and 7 oz. We have also been able to change dirty diapers. Louie has had a good ones. They are still passing meconium, the black tar-looking poop. The upside is that it doesn't stink yet. Bowel movements and urination help them get rid of bilirubin. They have had some trouble with that, which is pretty normal for premies. Even some term babies have that problem. Bilirubin is left over when the body breaks down red blood cells. If they don't get rid of it, they become jaundice. Jackson has already had to lay under a special light to help him get rid of the bilirubins, and Brady will likely have to do that today. The light should only last about 3 days before the problem is resolved and again, the more pooping helps too!

That brings me to the next criteria...eating. They were initially put on IV fluids for nourishment. Since then, they have received feeding tubes through which they get my milk. They have to be given milk slowly to see if their bodies will digest it. Each day their milk amount increases and their IV fluids decrease. Eventually, they will have the IVs removed. This needs to happen soon, because their veins are so little that the nurses are starting to have a hard time getting the IVs to stay in. So far they have digested everything they have eaten through the tube so the doctor ordered a faster increase today. YAY!!! That is not the big milestone though. They have to be able to eat on their own through a bottle or by breast feeding. Right now they can suck, which they practice on little pacifiers, and they can swallow. But they have to be able to do those two things together. They just aren't physically mature enough to do that yet. That skill usually comes between 32 and 34 weeks in gestational age. They were born at 30 weeks so they are 31 weeks now.

The last criteria is that they have to go a certain amount of time with no apnea. Apnea is when they stop breathing for a while. They do that every now and then, but they always resolve it themselves, which means they don't have to have any outside stimulation like back rubbing or caffeine. This is a good thing. It indicates that they are well on their way to being apnea free!

Of course they have to be in good health, but they are so healthy already aside from these small developmental issues. But the problems they have now will come with time. They are not things that need cured. They doctors comment all the time about how surprised they are that they are so healthy. Anything can happen, but the outlook is bright.

I am being discharged today, which I have mixed feelings about. I haven't seen the outside world in a week and a half and I need to prepare for Jackson and Brady to come home, but I hate leaving them here. I trust that they are in good hands and have already worked out a schedule to come see them, but it is still so hard. I am doing a good job of looking at the bright side - getting out of the hospital, time to get everything ready for them, time to store up some milk for them, time to heal and rest. Becky is coming to help me around the house and drive me to the hospital (can't drive for 2 weeks because of blood loss during c-section with Brady and because of pain meds). We really can't thank everyone enough for the love and support they have shown. Our parents stayed by our sides the entire time I have been in the hospital and visted the boys as often as possible, Kate has kept me occupied with girl talk and brought me Subway, Andy and Amy have opened their house to everyone to shower and sleep, Melissa and Lee from school have taken care of school stuff for us, and those who couldn't be with us have kept us in their prayers. We have the best families in the world!!!!!!!! I will keep updating everyone through the blog each day so keep checking back for the fast progress I know the boys will make!!!!