4 weeks

We have made it 4 weeks! I can't believe my boys are 4 weeks old but I also can't believe it's only been 4 weeks. There isn't a whole lot to update on. They have both been about the same for the past week. They did put Blair on a higher flow oxygen nasal cannula. Nothing big, he just needed a little extra help. They both pretty well just eat, sleep, and grow and their monitors just "ding and beep" all day!! I don't remember what it was like without dings and beeping all day, I hear it in my sleep. Haha. Blair is now weighing 3 lbs 5 oz (my big little boy) and Jace is weighing 2 lbs 9.6 oz. They have grown extremely fast in height. Jace is up to 14 & 1/4 inches (born at 11 & 3/4) and Blair is at 15 & 1/4 inches (born at 13 & 3/4). No wonder Jace is still so skinny compared to his brother, he's growing super fast in height!! Jace has a ton of blonde hair, it is so cute!! Blair has darker hair but doesn't have as much as his brother does. Last Wednesday I got to hold both of them together for the first time. I think they love to be back together when they can. I love being together!! I can't wait until it's a little easier to hold them. Grandma Edith got to hold Blair yesterday just wrapped up in his blanket. They were still hesitant on anyone else but Tyson and me holding Jace because he is still so much smaller. Both boys have their first eye exams tomorrow to check for retinopathy of prematurity. Retinopathy of prematurity is abnormal blood vessel development in the retina of the eyes. It is very common for preemies to have it and the earlier they are born, the higher risk they have. So being born at 27 weeks and constant oxygen flow the boys have a higher risk of having this. Of course, as with anything else, they have a chance of having no problems at all and the vessels developing normally. They will be able to tell us more tomorrow. Hopefully we are just in a feed and grow phase and get through these next 8 weeks quickly. I am so thankful they're doing as well as they are up to this point!!

Daddy holding Blair.

Holding both boys together for the first time! 

Blair- love our big little guy! 

Jace

Jace has finally got some fat on his cheeks

They moved up to preemie diapers and they are very big on them. 

Tired from taking a bath (my first time bathing one of them).

Jace is so sweet.

Grandma holding Blair. 

 

Jace is off his cpap

Yay! Jace came off his cpap today. I'm so excited to be able to see both boys faces now!!! Jace's nasal cannula is still a bigger one than Blair has on because he still requires more support and the higher pressure of air flow, but we are so excited he just gets to have that mask off his head and face. Other than that there really have not been any changes. They are eating pretty well for the most part. They do still have some days they have some high residual ( food they don't digest). They are gaining tiny bits of weight for now. The Dr. Said today if they didn't start gaining more with upping their feeds they would have to put them on a higher calorie intake and see what that did. Jace now weighs 2 lbs 1.7 oz and Blair weighs 2 lbs 10.9 oz. Hopefully they start gaining that weight fast and chunking up!!! Maddie came up with Tyson this weekend and I have been so happy to have them up here with me. We took her to the park today and fed the ducks and geese. The geese got a little wild on us though and were a little too brave for our liking when they started coming towards us flapping their wings wanting our bread we were feeding them. So that ended a little abruptly because none of us wanted to be chased by geese haha. Maddie is going to stay the week with me which it will be so nice to spend time with her and also give me something to do to get out of the hospital a little bit every day. I love watching those boys and I feel guilty ever leaving the hospital any day, but I am starting to feel a little fidgety/anxious sitting there day in and day out (and I'm only 20 days into it and still have a LONG time to go). So it will be nice to be able to spend some of my time with my favorite girl also this week. I would also like to thank everyone again for their thoughts and their prayers and love for our family! Our prayers keep getting answered and our sweet little boys are doing and hopefully continue to keep doing very well. We couldn't ask for better friends and family. There is no way we could do this without our amazing friends and family. We love you all. 

At the park. 

Our sweet Jace without his cpap. Oh. My. How I love him!!! 

Blair is the sweetest little guy. My words don't express how much I love him too!! 

Daddy was able to give them kisses tonight before we left. 

We sure do love these little guys and our little girl! 

2 weeks yesterday

My boys were two weeks old yesterday at 6:36 and 6:38 am. The biggest news from yesterday is they both had head ultrasounds and they both came back normal with no brain bleeds. That was a huge relief to me. I was pretty nervous about them, but feel so blessed they were okay. Today they're both doing well. Blair does have a nasal canula with oxygen they put on this morning. And Jace is still doing about the same. I ended up driving home Sunday evening and coming back up today. I needed a little break and needed to spend some time with Tyson and Maddie. It was really nice to be home for a few nights and be able to play with maddie all day yesterday. I had a hard time leaving them to come back up today. I hope these next 2-3 months go by very fast so my whole family can be together at home. 

Blair didn't think he needed oxygen, he's got it pulled up around his eyes. 

Jace is in his bili blanket again so I couldn't get a good picture of him with the light today. 

My home away from home

A good day!

Today was a good day! Blair and Jace both got their picc lines removed. The picc lines were for IV fluids and they're both eating enough that they no longer need IV fluids. Blair also got to get rid of his cpap today. They said he most likely will need to have a nasal canula for oxygen and may even have to end up back on cpap but they were going to try it and see how he did on room air and so far today he has done great. He has had some desats but they have all been self resolved and they didn't need to intervene with oxygen. He was awake and alert multiple times today and we got some cute videos and pictures.  Such a big boy!! Jace is just a little behind him with his respiratory side. He was a little lower on oxygen today, at about 24% most of the day but still going anywhere from 24%-32%. It's expected for him to be a little behind since he's smaller, but he hopefully won't take long to catch up. The nurse told me today that at about 3 lbs or a little over I could start dressing them. I would love to dress them in cute clothes. She also said about 3 and 1/2 lbs or a little more is when they can go to an open crib and out of incubators. That will be exciting as well. Just little steps up until we get there. Tomorrow is their head ultrasounds and I have been a nervous wreck about finding out results of those. I am praying they come back okay and there are no problems there. These boys sure are strong little boys and set quite the example to so many people for being as small as they are. I am so happy they are mine. ❤️

No cpap! I love seeing his face!! 

Awake and alert. When he got turned back to his back he just looked around for about 30 minutes. He kept kicking out of his swaddle also. 

He is just adorable! I can't get over being able to see his face!! 

Jace during cares without all his head gear on today. Love this boy!! 

I love it when Jace is awake too . I love that they just look around and look at me

When they hear my voice. These two boys make my heart so happy!!! 

No news is good news

I haven't really had a whole lot to update lately. No news is good news around here though. The boys don't really do a whole lot. They Need to grow and that's a really slow process. They both are gaining weight which is great! Blair is at 2 lbs 6.6 oz and Jace is at 1lb 15.2 oz today. Jace is almost to the 2 lb mark!! They're both doing very well respiratory wise. Blair is advancing a little quicker than Jace. They think they can take him off his cpap soon. Jace has gone up on his oxygen due to so many desats, he has been between 24-28% but they reassure me that's okay and still pretty low for his size. They tell me it's a miracle alone they didn't have to be intubated at all and are just on the oxygen and cpaps. We are so greatful for that! They're both looking a little fuller than last week and I love to see that. They're both little wiggle worms which is great, they escape their swaddles every time. We have our first big test on Monday. They will do an ultrasound of their heads to check for bleeding on their brains. Please pray they both come back normal. I've been a little nervous about this, but I think that's probably expected with each test that comes our way. They are both perfect little boys and we love them so so much. 

Jace 

Blair

Sorry all the pictures look about the same with all their head gear on. Hopefully soon we can get that stuff off and start getting some fun pictures of their faces more often!! 

1 week

I cannot believe my baby boys are 1 week old today already!! This last week has been one of the fastest AND longest I've ever experienced in my life. Every day is one step closer to us coming home. It's hard to think that by the time I can take my babies home they will be 2 &1/2 or 3 months old (but probably the size of a newborn or still smaller at that time.) They both had another great day today. Blair had his picc line placed last night and did very well with it. Yesterday they were down to 15 beats per minute on their si pap(they both started at 40 beats per minute) and today they are off the si pap and on cpap which I don't fully understand the difference yet besides the sipap would blow puffs(beats) of air in their lungs and the cpap just blows continuous air so basically they're breathing completely on their own without the puffs but the cpap still helps keep the lungs and airways inflated. We have a lot to learn but from what we understand this is at least progress! And to me hearing "progress" is all that matters. Tyson held Jace today. It was his first time holding one of them. He opened his eyes for quite awhile and just looked at his daddy. It was very sweet. It melts my heart to see them with their eyes open. I held Blair today. They both tolerate holding very well so we should just be able to hold everyday from now on. I hope and pray that every day just keeps going up from here. We have had such a good week of good progress. I love these two little boys so much. We are so blessed to be their parents. As hard as it will be, we are so blessed to be the ones to get through this obstacle with them. Watching them be so strong through everything they have to endure makes me a stronger person. 

Jace looking at his daddy - melts my heart. 

Is he not the cutest little guy!!?! I am so in love with him. My heart just feels like it could burst looking at him. 

Blair without all his head accessories for a minute. It doesn't happen very often but I am sure it feels so good to have all the stuff off his head and face. I love being able to see his adorable face. He even has little chubby cheeks and I wish I could just kiss them all day. 

Blair somewhat getting those eyes open. It's hard work growing big and strong. 

Jace with Tyson's wedding ring on his leg. It would not fit over Blair's foot. 

This little girl loves " Donald." He sits out front of the Ronald McDonald house where we are staying and it's about impossible to get her to come inside. 

She Also LOVES this horse in the Ronald McDonald playroom! She is a crack up to watch ride it!! Love her more than words also. 

Again, I am so blessed to have the 3 beautiful children I have. How god ever chose me to be their mom I don't know, but I sure am thankful for it. 

Today

Today was a great day! Both boys are doing great! They are both on 20% oxygen which is what every person uses, just have to use the cpap to keep their airways open. Every new nurse we have tells us how fiesty they both are and what a good thing that is because they love to see them fight back! Both of them had high bilirubin again today so they got to get back under their lights until that comes down. Again, pretty normal for that to go up and down for them. Neither of them had any bradycardia spells in the last two days. I got to hold Blair today for first time. It is quite the process to get them out of their incubators and sat down with everything hooked up to them, but oh so worth it. I will cherish every second I can have them. Tyson changed his first diaper on Blair today! The diapers are so tiny, and still so big on them. Our nurse was telling us today that the smallest baby he's seen since he has worked in the NICU was around 12 oz. I cannot even imagine a baby that tiny. I feel blessed mine are as big as they are compared to that size. Blair weighs 1lb 15.5 oz today and Jace weighs 1 lb 10.9 oz today. They both get fed every 3 hours and eat a total of about 1 oz for the day. The nurse said they are both tolerating feeds very well. We are headed home tonight to pack up some things, seeing as how we made it up there on short notice with very little personal items. I cannot wait to see Maddie. Talking to her on the phone she already sounds like she's grown up! She is going to come back up tomorrow with us for a few days and I think will really enjoy getting to go in and see her brothers and spending some time with mom and dad. I know I will sure enjoy it! 

Holding Blair

Blair doing some tummy time 

And Jace doing some tummy time(he always puts that one arm stretched out, no matter how many times you move it back) 

Tyson changing Blair's diaper, while grandma Edith holds his arms. 

And one of this girl because she is just so darn cute!!! (She's been spoiled at grandma'a this week. She sure is loved by so many people)

Big day

Today was a big day. I finished my last round of antibiotics and had my staples removed from my stomach. They then told me I could be discharged but when they took my vitals, my blood pressure was up again. So we got to stick around and have blood pressure checks all day. Long story short, they've put me on blood pressure medication and let me go as long as I continue to see a maternal fetal medicine specialist here in Boise until my blood pressure is for sure under control. We had some visitors today and that was wonderful!! We love seeing people from home and we love seeing family! But on to more exciting news. The Dr. Talked to me today and said the boys are doing great! They will have to put a picc line in Blair in the next couple days, but that's not anything to be concerned about. Jace already had his done earlier. He told me they think they are in the clear for having to be intubated and given surfactant because they're breathing and respiratory rates have been good. That makes me so happy. They will have their first head ultrasound to check for any bleeding on the brain at 14 days and that should be the first big thing they have done. They also will start being fed every 3 hours as of today instead of every 6 hours. The best news today?!  I got to hold Jace. It was heaven. We got to pull him out of his incubator and he laid on my chest for an hour and a half. I could have sat there all day holding him if they would let me. I was ecstatic to get him for that long though. We will try holding Blair tomorrow hopefully. He still has a line in through his belly button because he doesn't have a picc line yet and so they said we really have to be very careful with that line on the belly. We saw both babies actually wake up and have their eyes open today and look around. They are the most precious little things. I am so blessed to be their mommy and I love them more than words can ever say. 

Blair with his eyes open 

Blair again 

Jace a little upset when mom had to put him back. 

Jace 

Jace a little happier 

Loving every minute of this 

The best view I could ever have right now. 

72 hours

The nurses told us this morning that usually the 72 hour mark is a big indicator of how babies are going to do. She said a lot of the time they know by 72 hours whether they are going to need more help or not. Jace and Blair both did really good today for their official 3rd day of life. They are both requiring less oxygen. Jace was using 23% and Blair was using 20% tonight. The nurse practitioner did tell us today Jace has a heart murmur , but that is completely expected in premature babies. They will give it some time to heal itself and if it does not will look into it more when they're a couple weeks older. They did not hear any heart murmurs on Blair so that's great. I had a little breakdown in their room today because it is very hard for me to look at my babies the way they are and not get very emotional about it. New moms should be able to just hold and snuggle and love on their babies. It's just been very scary for me to walk into their room and know I can't do those things and just watch them. The nurse sat me down today though and explained quite a bit for me and re assured that for their size and age they really are doing so well. I need to just give it time and lots of it. I love those little boys so much. I pray everyday for their strength. I just have to keep reminding myself it's going to be a slow process. They were sleeping on their sides tonight under their lights and looked so cozy!