Day 21!!!

This is the first picture of the day, and it says an awful lot about how the boys are doing!!!  I've been waiting for this picture for 3 weeks!!!

FINALLY HOLDING BOTH BOYS!!!

 This picture really melts my heart, and hopefully we can continue to see these types of activities on a more frequent basis!!!  The boys did well last night and their stats remain pretty stable.  Joseph's x-ray looked ok, and the nurse said they were happy with his progress.  As the boys get older they want to keep their oxygen saturation levels a little higher, so his oxygen assistance at 60% isn't something to worry about at this time.  Nicholas is also creeping up a little bit, so we'll keep an eye on him today as well. Their weights have not been updated as of this morning, but we'll keep you updated!!! The boys both got baths this morning, because they were a little "stinky" according to their nurse!!!  I can't wait to see how our house smells with all of the males in here!!!  Sorry Kalleigh!!!

Nicholas says Good Morning!!! I'm nice and clean now!!!

UPDATE 8/31/2013 8:30 PM:  After my Wife's long visit this morning, the boys seemed to have calmed down, and settle in to a nice stable rhythm today!!!  My Wife said that she was in heaven holding both boys at once, especially since she was unable to hold either of them the last day or so since they received blood, and were a little worn down!!! 

Joseph had a really good day, and is now up to 11 ml of milk every three hours!!!  His weight was up to 2lb 12.8 oz and his tolerance of the feedings is a good sign that he may be able to come off of his PICC line in a week or so!!!  Also Joseph is off of his last medication, the milrinone which was for his heart complication!!!  His oxygen assistance was also back down to 43% when I left him tonight, and he was all snuggled up ready for bed!!!  Their oxygen levels are a little elevated because as I mentioned before they are trying to hold them at a certain level of O2 saturation.  Before when the boys were doing really well their O2 parameters were 82-92%, and now they are 87-94%.  Joseph is doing really well, and we are so happy that he has come off of his last medication today!!! Joseph and Nicholas will both still receive caffeine for their apnea and their respiratory treatment every 12 hours, but this is standard.

Nicholas continues to be our little easy rider!!!  He's doing really well, and they have moved him up to 2.2ml of breast milk every hour on his continuous feed!!!  His weight is not up to 2lb 9.3oz, and since today was the first day they increased his feeds, we're anxious to see what tomorrows weight comes in at!!!  Nicholas was ranging between 36-42% oxygen assistance today, but he was resting nicely at 38% when I left him tonight! 

I know you are all really wondering about the whole chair incident, and apparently I'm now known around the NICU as "that Dad who broke the chair" because I had a number of comments from many of the nurses, some whom I've never met!!!  Well I'm happy to say the chair is fixed, and I won't be seeing a bill!!!  I think it's safe to say that I won't be reclining in that chair ever again!!!

Today was a great day, it started with my Wife being able to hold both boys at once, and then we got to spend a lot of time with Vince!!!  It was really nice for both my Wife and I to be able to spend quality time with Vince, without constantly worrying about the boys, and calling the NICU every 3 hours for updates.  Don't get me wrong, we still worry about the boys on a minute by minute basis, but since all of the reports on them today were positive, we focused all of our attention to Vince!!!  My Wife is continuing to get better from the C-section, and she is finding herself capable of more and more each day!!!  She has really been a trooper through this entire process, not only since the boys were born, but for also being hospitalized on bed rest for the 5 days prior to their arrival!  I know it's been hard on her, but to see her being able to do the little things with Vince again, and being able to go see the two boys on her own, really makes me happy, because I know she is too!!! 

Push ups were at 21 (42) today!!!  I think I have at least 4 more days in me to go with an unbroken string of 50, but doing them everyday may make that tough!!!  I hope everyone has a wonderful Saturday night, and you will be hearing from me in the morning!!! Goodnight everyone!!!

Since Jr. Didn't get a solo shot today!!!  He's looking so good!!!

Vince and Me getting some good father son bonding time on the super slide!!!

Day 20!!!

Wow, I'm not sure about anyone else, but my chest is not liking me right now!!!  At the gym this morning we were discussing the choice of push ups, which I'm sure I'll regret at some point, but as long as those boys are in there I'm not going to make it easy!!!  I won' t be able to see the boys today until this afternoon so there won't be any pictures until tonight, when hopefully my Wife and I will be able to have both boys out at the same time!!!

The boys had a great night according to their nurse.  The blood transfusions completed and she said they both look really good, but they won't have an update on the numbers until later today.  The nurse assigned to them this morning told me that she just drew the blood at about 6:00 am.  We also hope to have an update on Joseph's echo, and we of course hope it shows his heart is improving even more!!!  Not too much news to report on the boys, both of them are remaining stable at their numbers from yesterday.  The doctors may want to increase Nicholas' feedings today, and at the rate he's gaining weight he might pass Jr. soon!!! I'm sure now that they are in the same room, they'll be keeping a close eye on one another, and will have a competition to see who can out gain who on a daily basis!!!  We hope Joseph is able to get to 10ml of breast milk every three hours today, one step closer to the goal of 22ml!!!  It's amazing to see these boys continue to fight and progress each day, and we know there will still be bumps in the long road, but we take each day at a time, and are so thankful that we have been blessed by these two little boys!!!

UPDATE 8/30/2013 9:00 PM: So of course after I updated everyone this morning, our little trouble maker was up to it again!!!  Not anything to really be worried about, but Joseph's oxygen level seems to be creeping up again.  The doctor was going to take an x-ray of his chest this evening to see if his lung had collapsed again, if his oxygen level kept going up.  In a normal x-ray of the chest the lungs will appear translucent or almost black which means they are healthy and properly inflated.  In premature babies the air sacs (alveoli) are developing so quickly that the baby cannot keep them inflated and the x-ray will show white clusters where the lungs are instead of the translucent black that you see in a typical x-ray.  These air sacs are what allows for the gas exchange to take place in the lungs, and oxygenate the body, so if the air sacs are not working properly the gas exchange is failing to take place,  therefore the oxygen going into the body isn't being properly utilized.  Joseph's doctor stated that every day he is off of the ventilator is a good thing, but also said he may have to go back on tonight if she can't get his numbers to stabilize.  This again is nothing unusual for preemies, and again, they prepared us for this many times over during the days leading up to the boys births.  I asked in her professional opinion if she believes there may be long term issues with Joseph's respiratory functioning, but she said she didn't believe so, and everything she is seeing is pretty common. 

The doctor was able to provide us with some good news today regarding Joseph as well!  She reviewed his heart echo and in consultation with the cardiologist they said that Joseph's heart was looking "Super Good" and in fact said that only some residual is left affecting the heart.  We were told that residual in this case means a little bit of left over swelling of the heart, but basically it looks like a normal size now, and his heart is functioning great!   This was what we had hoped would happen, and the doctor seemed a little shocked that his heart has come down in size so quickly, but she was really happy and reassuring tonight!!!  Joseph also put on some more weight and now weighs in at 2lb 12oz!!!  He is up to 10ml on his 3 hour feeding schedule, and we're hoping that within 10-14 days the doctors will be able to remove his PICC line, and begin feeding by mouth!!!  The quicker they get the PICC line out, the less chance he has of any type of infection related to the line.  The NICU is proud that for over 700 days they have not had any infections due to the IV's, but as the doctor explained, it's still a piece of plastic in the body and there is always the potential for an infection, so the quicker that line comes out the better!!!  Joseph's blood levels were back to normal right in the upper 30's, so he was looking pretty good when I visited with him tonight!  He's also remains very active which is a positive sign too!!!

Nicholas is being typical Nicholas!!!  We've come to expect him to keep cruising along, but we have to remember that there is always a possibility of him taking a little step back from his progressions, but for now, we're enjoying each day and loving the progress!!! Nicholas is now weighing in at 2lb 9oz, and catching up to his brother very quickly!  His oxygen levels remain relatively low, with a little fluctuation, but the doctor is extremely happy that Nicholas has been able to remain off of his ventilator since the day he was born.  She said that if he can make it a week or so more without having to go on the ventilator that his respiratory development would be ahead of schedule.  Nicholas blood levels like his brother's are very good, also in the upper 30's!!!  He has been very comfortable every time we visit him, and as much as we want to hold him, we've let him rest, instead of disturbing him!  The doctor said that she would increase his feedings as well this weekend, so we'll hopefully see a step towards getting his PICC line out as well soon!!!

I stayed a little while longer than I normally do today, and I really enjoyed the quiet time I had with just the two boys. Prior to my alone time with them my Wife and I were there together enjoying the very relaxing and comfortable chairs in the boys room!  These are super recliners that are made for parents to sleep on if they choose, so of course me being the big kid that I am reclined the chair to a full flat position, but apparently this chair wasn't made for that!!!  I spent the next 10 minutes trying to get the chair back upright, but it was useless!!!  My Wife quickly left after that, as she didn't want to be a part of the circus that was going on in the room, and after 3 nurses came in to try and help, that chair is still lying flat in the room!!!  I only asked that if it gets put on my bill that they deliver it to my house, because it's very comfy!!!

I was reflecting on this experience (no not the chair!!!) and as long and hard as it has been, it has gone by fairly quickly so far.  I know that sounds crazy, but it's true, and I really believe it's from all of the love and support we have received from all of you!  I also walked around the NICU today, which is now completely full, and I thought to myself just how lucky these babies are to be in the care of these wonderful nurses and doctors, who genuinely care for the children.  I also took the time to thank God for my two boys, who although are still very premature and are not out of the woods by any means, but are progressing every day.  I overheard the doctor speaking to a surgeon about a "Micro Preemie" who was 700 grams or about 1lb 3oz, also born at 26 weeks. As much as I didn't want to listen in, the conversation took place 10 feet away from me, and the doctor was saying how they have to speak to the parents of the baby because he needed some sort of high risk procedure, but she refused to send him elsewhere for the care, and wanted it done there.  One of the things that I thought of was if that was my Wife and I, how would we handle it?  We received some consultation from the neonatologists before the boys were born about the different possibilities ranging from the worst of the worst, to the best of the best, but we also have been extremely lucky to have only the few scares so far, and haven't had to have any difficult decisions to make, other than to consent to blood transfusions.  I prayed for this little boy, especially after hearing that the doctors would have to discuss the possibility of death with his parents.  It made me truly realize just how lucky and blessed we are to have the boys in the condition they are right now, and that other families may not be as lucky, and I can only hope that they have the strength and support that we have received to help them through this difficult time.  The good news about this little boy was that he is stable on his ventilator, and the doctor was optimistic, but she was obviously very concerned too!!!  I know I have been asking for a lot of prayers from all of you, and believe me they are being answered, but if just for tonight please say a prayer for not only this little baby boy, but all of the babies in NICU's who are literally fighting for their lives on a daily basis.  This experience truly puts things into perspective, and makes you realize what is really important in life.  I apologize if this last part came off a little preachy, that's not my intention with this blog, but after my visit today I thought it might be nice to share with all of you who have been so wonderful!  Goodnight to you all, and thank you for your continued love and support for our family!!!

Joseph, judging by his fingers this time, he's a lot happier!!!  Goodnight Joseph!!!

Nicholas, being the cool cat that he is!!!  Goodnight Nicholas!!!

Day 19!!!

We had some great news last night!!! At about 2 AM my Wife woke me up, which usually would make me worry since I know she checks in on the boys at that time, but she said that both boys were having great nights and they moved them into the same room!!!  We have been waiting for this day since the boys were born so we are very excited that we won't have to be going back and forth between rooms anymore!!!  They are both still on their C-PAP machines of course, but the nurses said that they put the machines in a position that will allow us to hold both of the boys at the same time and my Wife and I can sit next to one another!!!  We are going to check out the boys new home this morning, so we'll let everyone know how it looks!!!  Both boys are doing great and remain in the same condition as last nights update.  Also, big brother Vince joined in on the pushups today, and after my Wife's doctor's appointment today hopefully she will be cleared for light activity and the ability to drive again!!!

UPDATE 8/29/2013 8:45 PM:  The boys did well today, I think they enjoy seeing each other once again!!!  Both Nicholas and Joseph had to get blood today, they were both a little anemic with their blood counts in the mid to upper 20's.  Usually the doctors want them in the upper 30's to 40's.  So we consented to have them receive another transfusion.  This is not uncommon for preemies so we weren't really alarmed.  The NICU did a fantastic job preparing us for everything that may and will eventually happen so we didn't think twice about it!

Joseph is up to 8 ml of breast milk every 3 hours!!! He is doing really well, and his oxygen has been remaining at 35%.  He looks really comfortable and his color looks a little better than earlier today.  As of right now we haven't received a weight update on Joseph, but we're hoping he's up from the 2lb 10oz!

Nicholas is doing really well and his oxygen assistance is back down in the mid 20's!  The nurse said his transfusion went well, and the good pink color has returned to him!  Nicholas also put on 50 grams!!! That brings him up to 2lb 9oz!!!  He is right on his brother's heals now!!!  We hope he has another good day tomorrow and continues his growth!

Both boys seem to be finding a comfortable stable vital level right now, which is very comforting for us!  It's still hard to see them on the PICC line and the C-PAP but we will trade that for the progress they have both made so far!!!  Joseph had an echo earlier but we don't have the results yet, and I'll keep everyone posted on his heart condition!  Goodnight to all, push ups today 19 (38), getting tough, but please keep it up for our boys!!!

BIG YAAAAWNN!! Jr. says "I'm tired Dad!!!" Goodnight my man!!!

Look at those beautiful little eyes of Nicholas!!!  Goodnight buddy!!

Day 18!!!

Joseph and Nicholas both had good nights!!! We were concerned about Joseph since he pulled his ventilator tube out, but apparently he is doing quite well on the C-PAP again, so the nurses and doctors are pleased!  He has also become the talk of the NICU too since he's a little trouble maker!!!  He has been tolerating his feedings well, and they will discuss moving him up in volume again today.  His oxygen assistance has remained at 40% throughout the night and he didn't have an episodes, so they are happy with his progress.  If his oxygen starts creeping up above 50% again they may have to reinsert the ventilator, but for now he is holding pretty stable!  His blood work has remained stable as well, and the doctors have been happy with his heart as well!!!

Nicholas seemed to have stabilized last night as well, he was having bouts of apnea but apparently the caffeine worked, and he had a good night.  His oxygen remains in the low 30's right now, but the nurses said since they have been feeding him at shorter intervals his oxygen requirement would increase, so they are hoping that is the only reason he is still at 34%.  Hopefully the doctor will authorize an increase in his feeding volume, and we can see some significant weight gain in Nicholas!!!  The nurses will do blood tests on him this morning to determine if he needs another transfusion, or if the caffeine has helped him to increase his numbers from yesterday.  We're hoping of course he won't need more blood, but the doctors stated that this is perfectly normal for premature babies.

UPDATE 8/28/2013 1:15 PM:  I went to visit the boys before work this morning and both of them were doing really well!  There isn't much news to report from my last post, so I won't repeat myself.  However Joseph now weighs 2lb. 10oz. and Nicholas at 2lb. 6oz. so both boys are growing at good rates!!!  They are looking healthier each day, as the develop their features and get more meat on their bones!!!

This is Nick's favorite sleeping position!!!

Joey, doing the same thing!!! Identical???

UPDATE 8/28/2013 9:05 PM:  Our nightly visit to the NICU was another good one!!!  Vince is able to come into the NICU but only go straight to the waiting room, but he flirts with all of the nurses on his way in!!!  He's becoming a pretty popular guy there!  He's been doing really well, tonight my Wife went to visit the boys first and I stayed with Big Brother, and then we switched!  It's not an ideal place for him, but he seems to be getting used to it!!!

Joseph is doing really well on his C-PAP machine, and his oxygen levels have been lowered to 35%!!!  Hopefully this means that his lungs are fully inflated again, and we won't have to see the ventilator anymore!!!  We know it's still a real possibility that he'll have to go back on at some point, but for now we're extremely pleased at his progress!!!  Joseph has also been increased to 7ml of breast milk every 3 hours!!!  He's an eating machine!  The doctors also ordered for his milrinone medication to be lowered again, and he hasn't had a negative reaction thus far!!!  His heart rate was a little elevated tonight, but he just received a respiratory treatment, and that usually gets him a little fussy!!!  Both boys receive respiratory treatments daily, so nothing to be alarmed about!!!

Nicholas is also doing really well and he has made it back down to only 26% oxygen assistance!!!  He looked really good tonight, and we're hoping they won't have to transfuse blood, but we'll have to see what tomorrows blood test results are.   Nicholas has been given a little different feeding pattern than his brother also.  Instead of feeding him every 3 hours, Nicholas is on a continuous pump, that administers .8ml of breast milk every hour.  I asked why they decided to go this route with Nick, instead of the volume increase every three hours, and the nurses explained that some premature babies handle the feedings at a much slower rate as in this case, so they slow the feedings so the baby can process the milk better.  The last time they increased Nicholas' feeding is when he had some trouble with the ulcer bleeding, so they are going to try this process and see how he does.  So far it has been working great, so we'll keep our fingers crossed!  It's just amazing that we have two boys who look (and definitely sleep) identical, but yet their treatments are so different right now!!! 

The boys were in the exact same positions tonight as they were from my earlier pictures, so if you want an updated look, just scroll up, and that's pretty much it!!!  We still cannot get over the way they both sleep with their tiny butts up in the air! In fact Vince still sleeps like that too sometimes!  I know it's how a lot of babies sleep, but it's funny when we go from room to room in the NICU and see pretty much the exact same thing!  I hope everyone has a wonderful night, and I hope you're not getting too sore from the pushups, 18 (36) today in case you haven't done them yet!!!  Goodnight to everyone, and we will update you tomorrow on the boys!!!

Day 17!!!

Both boys had good nights according to their nurses!!!  Joseph has been responding great to his ventilator, and is back down to 23% oxygen assistance.  The doctor said this would probably happen now that his lungs are both inflated again, and hopefully the little guy can rest a few days to build up his strength to keep his lungs full when he comes off the ventilator!  More good news for Joseph is that the nurses decreased the amount of pressure that the ventilator is providing for each breath, so the little man is maintaining great oxygen levels with a little less assistance!  His heart rate has also come down now that he has become used to the ventilator again.  We did get nervous yesterday morning when his heart rate was hanging around 195-200, but now he is back in the normal range of 155-170, so his heart will hopefully continue to improve.  Joseph will get an x-ray today at 8 to review his lungs and make sure they are looking healthy again!!!

Nicholas has just been cruising along these last few days, but his oxygen assistance has crept up a little as well.  This is nothing to be concerned about according to his nurses and the doctor, and they don't believe his lungs are collapsed at all like Joseph, but they will watch him closely.  They administered some caffeine to help him function a little better, and the nurse said it helped bring his oxygen levels down a bit.  The nurse was also going to check the amount of pressure that the C-PAP is providing to see if maybe he's ready to be lowered, or if it should be increased so he can maintain a stable oxygen level.  Nicholas was at 34% oxygen this morning, so it's not too high, but we'll keep an eye on it and update with any news, but all other signs for him are looking good!!!  They have also increased his feedings to 1ml every 3 hours now, so we're hoping by tomorrow he's able to receive a larger volume of breast milk too!!!


UPDATE 8/27/2013 9:00 PM:  The boys have done well today, in fact Joseph felt he was doing so well that he pulled his ventilator tube out!!! Yep, that's right, when we went to visit tonight the nurse told me he pulled out his tube and they put him back on the C-PAP because they didn't want to put the tube back down his throat and cause more stress to him!!! Well the good news is that he is still holding his oxygen levels pretty good, he's at 40% oxygen assistance, and the lung isn't completely open yet, but the Dr. said we will keep an eye on him tonight and see how things go.  The doctor was planning on removing the tube tomorrow morning anyway, so Jr. just decided to do it for them I guess!!!  He has also put on some weight and is now at 2lb 9oz.!  His blood numbers looked great, and the doctors are happy with his progressions.  He is back up to 5ml every 3 hours, and the doctor stated she may increase to 6ml tomorrow!!!

Nicholas has been hanging in there, his weight has stayed the same at 2lb 4oz, but he has been having a little apnea today, where is has stopped breathing and needed some assistance getting it going again with the caffeine as mentioned earlier, but his blood numbers went down a little too so the doctor said they may need to give him a little more blood.  They are not concerned that he is bleeding anywhere though, and his stools have been blood free.  His tolerance to the breast milk has made the doctor comfortable in administering more to him, so tomorrow he will be increased gradually, hopefully ending the day at 3 or 4ml of milk every 3 hours!!!

Both of the boys are beginning to show their features more and more, and it's amazing to see how alike they are, but also the subtle differences!!!  The boys had a few more visitors today too!  They were both sleeping and didn't put on that great of a show for them, but what's important is they came, so Uncle Drew, Aunt Katie, Uncle Tom, and Uncle Ryan, thanks for coming by!!!  You've probably noticed that there are no pictures today, that would be my fault for forgetting my phone in the car and not being able to leave the hospital because we had Vince with us!!!  I promise to have more pictures up tomorrow!!!  Push-ups 17 or 34 today, not going to lie, getting tough to keep them all together, but still going strong!!! My Wife and I also have to thank my 5:15 am workout crew at Crossfit Resurgence for the wonderful card, wishes, and very generous gift!!!   You guys are the best, and we appreciate all of your love and support!!! Goodnight everyone!!!

Day 16!!!

The boys were a little fussy last night as their oxygen saturation was fluctuating throughout the night, and both boys have had to increase their oxygen needs.  This is a little concerning to us of course, and the nurses although not in panic mode yet, are wondering why they are creeping up a little bit.  The boys' nurse last night has informed the doctors, and they are going to monitor the boys and draw some blood gas samples to see what may be going on.  The nurse said this is not unusual for premature babies however, and that we can expect to see ups and downs throughout this process.  Of course my Wife and I knew this would be the case, so we are not getting discouraged by the news from last night, and hope the boys can start stabilizing their oxygen today.  We will go visit the boys later this morning and give them a little pep talk!!!

Joseph, our little trouble maker, had the most ups and downs for his oxygen levels last night, and currently is in in the low 60's on his oxygen assistance.  The good news with Joseph is that he is handling his feedings well, and has made it back to his birth weight of 2lbs 8oz!  We figured he would start putting on some weight fairly quickly with the amount of feedings he has been getting.  We will keep an eye on him today, and say a lot of prayers that his oxygen levels come down, and he won't have to go back on the ventilator!!!

Nicholas has also been handling his feedings well, and we will expect those to increase today after the doctor takes a look at him this morning.  The nurse said he had a nice healthy bowel movement with no signs of blood which is a welcoming sign to us!!!  Nicholas has had his oxygen increased to 35% today and like his brother, they will draw a blood gas sample to see if they notice anything out of the ordinary.

The morning update could have been a little better of course, but we are still very confident that they boys will be okay and they will continue to grow stronger every day!!!  They are both putting on weight now, and hopefully that trend will continue as their feedings are increased.

Joseph getting some snuggle time with Mommy!!!

Nicholas in his little cocoon! He looks so peaceful!!!

UPDATE 8/26/2013 4:45 PM:  So Joseph had to go back on the ventilator today, which isn't a shock to us at all, but of course we had hoped this wouldn't have happened!  The Doctor called this morning to let us know that his oxygen levels have been creeping upward because his right lung had collapsed.  Now as bad as I thought that sounded, the doctor explained that this is not unusual and when the boys were first delivered they mentioned this would be a possibility being that the lungs are the last things to develop in the womb.  The doctor said that their air sacs (alveoli) are being produced by the thousands every day, and little Jr.'s respiratory muscles just aren't strong enough yet to bring in enough air to fill all of those air sacs up!!!  After his ventilator tube was reinserted today, Joseph's oxygen requirements were down in the 30's, which is quite an improvement from 70% which he had reached early this morning.  Of course, after all of the stress of having his tube reinserted little Joey was stressed and his heart rate became elevated, but the doctors have been watching him closely and said this is a typical reaction after the ventilator is reintroduced.  Poor little guy, his heart doesn't need the added stress, but we know he will be okay!!!  The doctors said they hope to have him off of the ventilator within 72 hours, but whey won't rush him off of it.

Nicholas on the other hand seems to be doing pretty well thank God!  He is up to 2lb 4oz, so he's quickly catching up to his brother the trouble maker!   Nicholas has been pretty comfortable the last few times we saw him which is shown in the picture above!  His feedings have continued to produce good results, and there still hasn't been any signs of blood in his stool!!!

It seems that these boys don't like Monday's, the first Monday Joseph gave us issues, last Monday was Nicholas' turn, and now back to Jr!  The good thing is though, the boys have had far many good days v. bad, and they have really been a joy to watch so far!!!  We know with the continued prayers and support from all of our family and friends these boys will be fine!!!

UPDATE 8/26/2013 8:45 PM:  We got to visit with the head neonatologist this afternoon, and we discussed Joseph's situation in depth.  He was very reassuring in letting us know that this is most likely a very mild set back, and one that he had explained could happen to the boys right after we met him on August 11th.  Joseph's lungs are underdeveloped like in most premature babies, so he is confident that after 48 to 72 hours he will be able to remove his ventilator and Joseph will be back on his way to a strong recovery!!!  Joseph's heart rate was of little concern to the Dr. right now, he already consulted with the cardiologist and they both agreed that had this lung collapse happen two weeks ago, they would have been very concerned about over stressing the heart, but since his heart has been getting better, both the neonatologist and the cardiologist have a positive prognosis.

Nicholas, is being typical Nicholas!!!  He is still holding is oxygen levels at 36%, but when we were there this afternoon they had brought it down twice, and his numbers were remaining stable, so we hope on our late night updated that he is in the 20's again!!!  We are really starting to see the features in Nicholas, and today he looked so much like Vince it was scary!!!  He was opening his eyes for us and looking at us today like "Be Quiet!!!" but we of course couldn't stop talking to him!!!  We are still hoping to see both boys together in a room soon, hopefully after they take the ventilator out of Joseph!!!

As you already have, please continue to keep our family in your prayers during this stressful time, our little boys will give us fits every now and then, but we're sure they're just preparing us for their mischievous  behaviors later on in life!!!  The push up count is at 16 today (32 if you're doing double since there's two boys!!!) I know it seems like day 15, but we have to count the first Sunday they were in there too!!!

Little Joey, back on the ventilator, but looked comfortable!!!

Nicholas doing what he does best!!! Looking like big brother too!!!

Two Weeks!!!

The boys have been with us now for two weeks, and I truly believe things have been progressing better than expected!!!  It's a weird feeling because on one hand we feel that time is dragging on with the two of them in the NICU, but then when I woke up this morning I couldn't believe that it's already been two weeks!!!  I'm sure that doesn't make sense to most people, but if you've ever had to experience anything like what we're going through I'm sure you understand! 

Nicholas had a great night, and is down to 23% oxygen!  He is tolerating the feedings every 6 hours, and although they said they probably won't increase him to anything over 1ml this weekend, they may try 2ml today.  There hasn't been any residual so that is a sign things are digesting properly.  Residual for those of you who don't know, are remains of the previous feeding in their stomachs.  It's quite amazing, but they can draw air from the boys stomachs from their feeding tubes to determine how the feedings are being processed!

Joseph had to have his oxygen levels increased last night to 60%, but the nurse thinks she knows why.  When they feed the boys they put the breast milk in a syringe that hangs in their incubators, and the milk flows freely into the feeding tube.  Since Joesph is up to 6ml every 3 hours, it may be going in too fast for him, so they are putting his feedings on a pump to administer the milk at a slower pace over time.  The boys really weren't supposed to be eating yet so his body probably can't process that amount in a short period of time.  When I held Jr. yesterday they put his feeding on a pump and he did a lot better.  We will see how this technique works moving forward, but the nurse said he was good up until his feedings and she really believes by slowing the administering of the milk that he will be able to keep his oxygen saturation levels higher, and thus need less oxygen assistance!  We hope this works, and we will keep everyone updated! 

On another side note I have a wonderful Wife, she told me to go golfing today because she said I needed it.  I hadn't planned on doing much golfing being that she needs a lot of help still with Vince, but I didn't hesitate to make sure we had a tee time today when I heard her say go!!!  I hope everyone has a wonderful and blessed Sunday!!!

Day 14!!!

Last night went great for the boys!  Joseph is handling his 5 ml of breast milk every 3 hours great, and Nicholas has been doing great with his 1 ml every 12 hours.  Both boys have remained at the same oxygen levels throughout the night, which is a good sign, especially for Joseph.  We hope he is able to come down a little bit today, but we know the nurses and doctors won't rush it.  When we go see the boys later today we're hoping to get kangaroo time with both of them!!!  As long as they are below 50% on their oxygen we can do that, otherwise it may be too stressful for the little guys!

We get to spend some quality time with Vince today, we're taking him to see some firetrucks and other safety vehicles, and for those of you that know Vince, this is right up his alley, and then off to a birthday party!  My Wife and I both need this time with Vince, we can see that he understands things are not exactly the same as they were just a few weeks ago, but he will get used to it, and the bonding time is important for all of us.  We have been showing Vince some pictures of the boys on a daily basis, and he kisses my phone when we show him, it's really a precious moment for us every time he does that!!!

Speaking of pictures, I hope I didn't offend anyone with Joseph's grouchy picture yesterday!  It was too good not to post, and I needed the humor in these stressful times!!!  I hope everyone has a great Saturday, and we will keep you updated throughout the weekend!!!

UPDATE 8/24/2013 5:00 PM:   Today was the day I finally got to hold Joseph other than just in his incubator!  My Wife and I went to see the boys earlier this afternoon and it was right before both of their feeding times, so my Wife took Nicholas and I took Jr.!  The boys are being fed through a feeding tube of course, but as it was being administered we got to hold the little munchkins!  Nicholas and Mommy did great together, and he stayed out for about an hour with her!!!  Joseph and I did great as well, he got his 5ml of breast milk and laid on my chest for about 45 minutes without any alarms going off!!! 

Both boys are doing well, Joseph is still in the 50% range on his oxygen, and Nicholas in the mid to high 20's, but both of them are remaining stable, and showing signs of improvement.  Joseph and Nicholas both gained 20 grams since their last weigh in, and we're hoping this trend continues from now on, with no more weight drops!  Nicholas has been tolerating his feedings fine and they will increase the frequency of feedings to every 6 hours, but still keep the 1ml mark for the weekend.  Joseph may be bumped up to  6ml of breast milk as early as 6:00pm today, but we'll wait and see. 

It was exhilarating to have both boys out at once, and hopefully we are closer to having them in the same room, so my Wife can hold one and I can hold the other together!  They were wide awake today and they were very responsive to both of us!!!  It's amazing to see them developing right before us, and we know it's a long way to go, but looking into their little eyes we know they're going to come out of this stronger and healthier!!!

I think this is a smile from Jr!!! 

Little Nicholas cuddling up to Mommy!!!

Day 13!!!

The boys had a good night with minimal episodes!!!  That's always the news we want to hear in the mornings, so the day is off to a good start!  My Wife and I went to visit the little munchkins this morning, and they are very stable right now.  Joseph's oxygen assistance is a little elevated to 55% which has raised concerns for the Dr. since he was down in the 30's earlier this week.  The doctor stated that she would be decreasing his fluids because his lungs may be getting too moist and obviously don't function as well if that's the case, but they have to be careful because they need to keep enough fluid in him for his heart to function properly!  So the medical staff is walking the fine line with him again, but the doctor also reassured us that these issues are common in premature babies and that we were likely to experience these types of fluctuations for a while!  Joseph lost 10 grams which is not even half an ounce so he's still at the 2lb 7oz mark, but they are increasing his feedings again today so we hope to see that number rise soon!!!

Nicholas had a great night and actually gained 10 grams!  Interesting how one lost 10 and the other put on 10!  He is still weighing 2lb 2oz, and has remained relatively low on his oxygen levels between 28 and 32 percent.  The doctor is going to reinstate his feedings today as well, starting slow at 1 ml every 12 hours.  They need to monitor his GI tract to make sure the bleeding doesn't occur again, and they are continuing to give him Zantac for the acid build up of the stomach.  The GI doctor said we would need to be careful with feedings because if there is an irritation the acid build up could irritate it even more and we could fall back into the same situation as earlier in the week.  So he will remain on Zantac for the next 12 weeks according to the doctors.

The overall report is positive though, and the doctors are really happy with Nicholas' progressions and hope to see improvements in Joseph after his fluids are decreased a little.  They will also be taking Joey off of the NO2 today, and hopefully they can get that large piece of equipment out of his room!  Once they remove that piece, they may be able to put both boys in the same room, but for right now being next to one another is okay with us!!!

Joseph having a good morning, get that O2 down buddy!!!

Nicholas not wanting to be bothered today!!!

UPDATE 8/23/2013 9:15 PM: Today was a good day for the boys!!!  Nicholas was very active when we went to see him this evening, but he has been tolerating his feedings fine, and they are not finding any residual left in his belly so if that keeps up they will increase his feeding volume on Monday.  They will not make quick changes to his food intake though because of the bleeding the other day.  Nicholas was also down to 26% on his oxygen, which is very close to the target of 21%.  When we were there he seemed to be doing really well on his oxygen saturation, so I'm hoping the next update has him at room air!  Nicholas had hardly any episodes today, so hopefully that trend continues into the night as well!!!

Joseph also had a good day today, he did have a few more episodes, but again nothing alarming to the nurses.  The doctor was also able to take him off of his NO2 machine today!!!  We pray that he is able to stay off of the NO2 from here on out, but we know they will monitor him closely just in case.  Joseph's oxygen assistance also came back down today to 50%, which is a good sign.  As I mentioned earlier the doctor was a little concerned about his oxygen creeping up over  50% again, but he seems to have settled back down, and hopefully he can slowly get back to the mid 30's by tomorrow!!!

Hopefully if you're participating in the push-ups you're not getting to sore!  Just in case you forgot today was 13, and if you're participating in double (one push up per each boy per day) it's 26!  Pretty soon I'm going to have to start breaking them up!!!  But watching those two boys fight through this makes the push ups seem like nothing!  We appreciate all of your support, and hope to keep bringing you good news day in and day out!!!  I hope everyone enjoys their weekends!!!

Nicholas just waking up!!!

The most inappropriate picture I'll ever post here, but apparently Joseph wasn't too happy to see me!!! I hope I don't have to point this one out, but we were cracking up!!!

Day 12!!!

I wish I could say last night went great, but unfortunately Joseph had a few episodes where his heart rate would drop below 100, and his oxygen saturation would not stabilize.  Neither of these two issues are of major concern however, as most premature babies go through these episodes and they become less frequent over time.  The nurse also said that he may have experienced these episodes last night because of the decrease in his medications, so they stopped weaning him down and are holding him at his current level.  He has since been stable, and hopefully they can start his breast milk feeding again today, which they had to stop because of the episodes!  He looked happy and comfortable this morning, and I got the help the nurse with his "hands on" evaluation, which made me very happy!  His oxygen levels were back in the mid 40's, but the nurses said because of the issues last night, they wanted to make sure he was comfortable before weaning him down again, but as long as he remains stable today, the nurses hope to get him back down to the 30's.

Nicholas had a great night, and has remained very stable since his little issue earlier this week.  There hasn't been any more signs of bleeding from the intestines, and his color looks 100% better now.  We are hoping that the bleeding issue was a  small problem that won't resurface, and we are thankful that at this point it doesn't seem to be anything more serious in nature.  Nicholas was very cozy this morning, so instead of waking him I just gently put my hand on his back and let him rest!

Nicholas sound asleep, and looking really cozy!!!

Jr., our little trouble maker back to his old tricks!!!  Doing better this morning!!!

  
UPDATE 8/22/2013 3:00 PM:  Today has been a good day so far, the boys both have had some episodes today, but it's nothing that the nurses or doctors are too concerned about.  Again episodes are normal in premature babies, and both boys are not experiencing the episodes frequently enough for the nurse to believe something else is wrong.  She basically explained to me that their brains and central nervous systems are so underdeveloped yet that they literally forget to breathe, so they experience an episode!!!  I can understand that considering they weren't supposed to be breathing on their own yet!

Joseph has been back on his feedings as of 11:00 am today, he is only on 3 ml of breast milk every 3 hours though, but seems to be tolerating it fine.  Joseph also had a really big day today, first I got to hold him during hands on, and then my Wife got to finally do kangaroo time with Jr.!!!  It was wonderful news and we hope that he will continue to tolerate the holdings more frequently!!!

Nicholas joined in on the episode train today, probably because his brother was doing it, so he didn't want Jr. to be alone!  The nurses have not started his feedings yet, they are making sure his GI bleed or Ulcer is completely healed before re-introducing breast milk to his stomach.   Nicholas also got some much needed kangaroo time with Mommy today!  I will be heading to see the boys soon, and hopefully get some holding time for both of them as well!!!

 

Mommy and Jr. loving their first kangaroo time!!!

Little Joey with the hiccups!!!

UPDATE 8/22/2013 8:20 PM:  My wife, Vince, my Mom, and I all went to the hospital to see the boys tonight.  My Mom and Vince took a walk on the campus of the hospital, while my Wife and I went to see the boys.  I like it when my Wife and I can go see the boys together, and of course I wish Vince could be there with us, but I feel that the boys know when we're both in the room with them.  It's a blessing to live so close to my parents, and we can't put into words how thankful we are for their help with Vince during these last couple of weeks, as we spend and have spent a lot of time at the hospital.  Vince has been doing well with all of it, but I know he's happy that Mommy can at least be home at night to snuggle with him before he goes to sleep!!!

Both boys were nestled in their beds, sleeping very comfortably.  Throughout the day, both boys were experiencing episodes, but again nothing the nurses felt were out of the ordinary for such premature babies.  Joseph was handling his feedings well again, and there is talk about taking him off of the NO2 gas tomorrow, which would be nice to see! 

I wouldn't say today was a bad day, but it wasn't one of the better ones.  We have been lucky to have so many good days already, that we almost started to think that each day would be like that.  However the doctors and nurses have all kept us very aware that there will be a lot of ups and downs along this road, and keep telling us don't get discouraged if they do have a bad day.  It's hard to watch your children struggle like they do sometimes, but we know they are fighting, and that has helped us and will continue to help us remain positive during this journey!  Goodnight to everyone and thank you so much for the continued support, my Wife and I don't know where we would be without all of you!!!

Day 11!!!

Today we get to meet with the cardiologist so we haven't made our way to the hospital just yet.  The updates from the nurses in the early AM and a little while ago were all positive though!  Nicholas has been slowly decreasing his oxygen assistance as well as Joseph.  We should hear about Nicholas' blood work either this morning, or early afternoon, so hopefully there are no signs of infection and they can take him off of his antibiotics.  Since they put him on those, they stopped his breast milk feedings, so hopefully they can resume those today. He'll have some catching up to do since Joseph is on 5ml every three hours and doesn't seem to be slowing down!!!

The cardiologist will explain in detail the situation with Joseph's heart, and give us an idea of what we can expect moving forward.  The nurses have explained to us that regardless of when he comes home, he will still need follow up with his cardiologist for a while, until they are certain his heart is functioning properly.  We are praying that the report on him is good, and hopefully they can take him off of his last medication today!

A quick update on My wife, she is doing great and getting stronger everyday just like the boys!  Her incision is healing nicely, and she is able to do more each day.  She cannot wait to be able to pick up Vince and hold him, which has definitely been the toughest thing for both Vince and my Wife!  Vince is in good spirits though and has really helped us keep smiling through this stressful situation!  It's still hard for us not to have him see his brothers yet, but again the joy we will experience when he sees them at home where they belong will wash away the feelings we currently have!!!


UPDATE 8/21/2013 2:45 PM:  We had a good meeting today with the cardiologist for Joseph.  According to the cardiologist, the specialist who was monitoring my Wife from the 26 week mark on made the right decision to deliver the boys when we did!  The doctor explained that a normal infant heart around this time is about 2 millimeters thick, and at about 10 hours after delivery Joseph's was about 8 millimeters thick!  He wasn't able to get any pressure behind his right lower chamber contractions to send blood to the lungs to oxygenate.  The doctor also explained to us that he doesn't feel that the boys were suffering from Twin to Twin Transfusion, instead he believes Joseph was suffering from a premature closure of the PDA.  When in utero the babies lungs are collapsed so all blood that goes towards the lungs from the right lower chamber has to be redirected through the PDA.  In Josephs case this wasn't happening because the PDA was closed, and his heart was almost backing up with blood because of the increase in pressure since the blood couldn't circulate.  This caused the right lower ventricle walls to thicken because they were overworked.  The cardiologist said that if we waited any longer to deliver, Joseph probably wouldn't have survived.  Again we can't say enough about the attention that was given to my Wife before delivery, and the attention that has been given to our boys since they were born.  This report from the cardiologist was very comforting because he is starting to see the right ventricle walls shrink and pump blood to the lungs without any major concerns.  We asked about any long term concerns and he stated that at this point he doesn't think this problem will be ongoing, and he believes that within a month or two the walls of Joseph's heart should be back to normal!!!

According to our cardiologist the premature closure of the PDA is a rare, especially at 26 weeks.  He stated that typically if this does occur it is much later in the gestational period around full term from 35 weeks on.  He also stated that it is extremely rare to happen in twins, or at least to one twin and not the other!  After practicing for over 20 years, he said that we are the first case he has seen where the PDA closed in one twin so early, and had no effect on the other!!!  Not something we really wanted to be remembered by, but hey there's a first time for everything!!!

Joseph has not missed a beat either, he is on lower oxygen support today, and has been increased from 5 ml of breast milk to 7 ml of breast milk every 3 hours, so again he is following the Gallelli name in being a good eater! He has responded nicely to both the increase in feedings and the decreases in both the NO2 and his other heart medication.  We hope to have him off of his heart meds by the end of the week, and off of his NO2 shortly thereafter!

Nicholas has been back to himself again today, and they have taken him off of the antibiotics, as they have now ruled out an infection!  The x-ray of his chest and stomach looked clean this morning, so they are attributing his bleeding to either an ulcer or simple irritation.  He has remained high on all of his blood numbers since yesterday morning, and according to his nurse is having a "Fantastic" day!!! We hope to have him feeding on breast milk again soon, but of course they will monitor that very closely and start him off on a very small dose to assess his ability digest the milk!

After our meeting today my Wife and I were very happy, and we looked at each other without saying a word and realized just how lucky we are to still have both of these little guys in our lives.  We are so thankful to the specialist that took care of my Wife and the amount of time he spent with us to make us comfortable with any decisions he made, and after today we know he made the right call to have these boys join us on August 11th!!! 

UPDATE 8/21/2013 10:15 PM:  I just returned from my late visit with the boys, and everything has remained pretty stable today.  Joseph has gained weight again and is currently up to 2lbs 7 oz, just one ounce shy of his birth weight!  Nicholas put on 10 grams which doesn't really alter the ounces much, but it's a good sign, and he is still above his birth weight!

Nicholas has developed a bit of an attitude when the nurses don't lay him the way he wants, he was sleeping on his side and then became really agitated so the nurse moved him to his stomach and he was immediately happy again!  That's okay though, these boys have been through a lot in just a few days, so they can complain a little bit!!! 

Joseph seemed rather content tonight since his tanning light wasn't on, and he had his cool shades removed.  He seemed to be sleeping comfortably, that is of course until I stuck my big paw in there to give him a goodnight high five!  He settled back down with no issues though. 

I'm sure the nurses were happy to see me go tonight since both boys were perfectly quiet until I showed up :).  Oh well, they better get used to it!!!  In all honesty I think the nurses love when the parents visit, they take the time to share their experiences with you and listen to your concerns.  It's probably because they are working with babies and the same nurses all day, so they look forward to another person to listen and talk to!  Okay enough of my analysis on the nurses, someone called them "Angels in Blue Scrubs" which is the best definition we have, so we're going to steal that one!!!  Sorry the pictures are so dark, I didn't want to disturb the boys more than I already had tonight!!! Tomorrow's pictures will be better I promise! 

My little Nicholas all cuddled up!!!  Goodnight sweet baby boy!!!

Jr. enjoying a night without his shades!!! Goodnight little buddy!!!

Day 10!!!

Today both boys are doing better.  Nicholas received two blood transfusions yesterday and his color is a lot better today.  He had some blood in his stool yesterday and early this morning, but the blood this morning looked a little older instead of really red.  This could be a good sign that his issues could have just been an irritation in his intestine, but they are carefully monitoring him today.  His bowel sounds are still good, and his abdomen has remained the same size and soft, which is how they can monitor if anything is seriously wrong.  Of course we are concerned and will keep everyone updated, but as of now he seems to be doing better.  He is currently still receiving antibiotics in case of infection, but we won't know until tomorrow if that is the case.

Joseph is doing better, they are weaning him off of his NO2 (Nitric Oxide) for his heart, they brought the level from 5ppm down to 4ppm today, so hopefully he responds well and by the end of the week will not need it.  Joseph has been responding well to his feedings to, not showing any signs of intolerance, so we can only assume that he will start gaining weight at a faster rate.  We are still waiting for the results of yesterday's echo to see how his heart is responding, and hopefully we will have some information to share soon.

We are going to see the boys now, and hopefully things will continue to improve today for Nicholas, but please keep them both in your prayers.  We couldn't be happier with the level of care and attention our boys have and are receiving in the Edwards NICU, all of the nurses and doctors will be forever in our hearts for taking care of our babies, and making us understand everything so well!

One small thing I wanted to throw out there, for the past 10 days I've been doing one push up for everyday the boys are in the NICU (today was 10 tomorrow 11, etc. etc.).  If anyone wants to join me feel free, as these boys fight, it's the least I can do!!!  5:15 crew I'm assuming I can count on you guys for this!!!

UPDATE 8/20/2013 8:25 PM:  Today we saw a lot of improvement in Nicholas little episode from yesterday.  His color was so much better, and he was very active throughout the day, which was more normal for him!  There was still blood in his stool today, but it was more of what the nurses call old blood (a brownish red color) and not new blood, indicating that he most likely isn't bleeding anymore.  Of course they will continue to monitor him, but his last two blood readings have remained stable, and his red blood cell count is holding strong.  The doctor stated that this could have been a simple irritation that caused some bleeding or an ulcer, but his bowel's sound good, and his abdomen has remained soft throughout the day.  We are hoping he doesn't have an infection, but we won't know until tomorrow for sure, after his blood work comes back.  He gave us a pretty big scare yesterday, and I think he just wanted to let us all know that even though things have been going good, we're not in the clear yet, and we must be prepared for anything.  The doctors and nurses really have been on top of their game with both boys, and of course all of the love and prayers from everyone has without a doubt helped these two little munchkins!!!

Joseph is on took the lead on the good day streak from Nicholas, and he has continued to improve throughout the day today.  He is truly a Gallelli, as he was bumped up to 5 ml of breast milk every 3 hours, quite an improvement from the 1ml he was getting just two days ago!  His oxygen assistance has been decreasing slightly everyday, and he is currently in the mid to upper 30's, and has responded well to the NO2 decrease.

The doctor on call tonight was the doctor who was in the delivery room and treating the boys the first two days of their lives.  When I walked in this evening he said he was so happy that the boys were doing "Stupendous!" and he would have never thought things would be going so well this early in their lives.  My wife and I both know the boys are still at risk, but hearing those words come from the head of the neo-natologist group really gave us a boost of confidence that our boys are doing great!  We live each day on the edge, and as we found out yesterday into early morning today, we cannot take anything for granted!!!

I also have to say thank you to everyone who has contacted me about the push-up challenge I presented earlier!!!  I am shocked by the number of you who told me you are participating!  I even received a video of someone doing their 10 push-ups today (you know who you are!!!).  I really didn't think too many people would join in, but I appreciate the support, and those of you who are participating will get stronger along with my boys every day!!!

Nicholas looking a lot better today, but wiped out from a long night!!! Sleep tight buddy!!!

My new cool cat, Joey Jr. taking in the rays, looks ready for the beach!!!

 Goodnight to all of you, and our continued gratitude for your love and support throughout this journey!!!


One last update, I just received this one and it touched my heart!  Mommy holding Joseph for the first time!!!!

 

Day 9!!!

The boys did great overnight!!!  Joseph has been doing well with his feedings and has been increased to 2ml of breast milk every 3 hours, and has started to gain weight again! He currently weighs 2lbs 5 oz, so not quite up to his birth weight, but a very good sign that he is putting on some oz's.  Joseph's oxygen was also decreased to 40% last night, which makes us believe that his lungs are becoming stronger every day!  Joseph will have another echo today, he is still getting them every other day, to see how his heart is functioning, and if the right side has been able to shrink at all, or if it's just less stressed.  We hope it is beginning to shrink of course, but as long as the heart is not as taxed on that side we will consider that good news!!!

Nicholas has a good night too, his oxygen was ranging from 22-26% last night, and the nurse said that his blood sugars were in the normal range after his labs this morning.  Nicholas will have an echo today to determine if his PDA has closed, and how his well his heart is functioning.  I'm not a doctor by any means, but from what we have learned these past few days, I would have to believe his PDA has closed, and that is why his oxygen has been a little up and down, but I'll verify that with the Dr. today. They are discussing increasing Nicholas' feedings as well, he is currently still at .5 ml of breast milk every 12 hours, but since his medication to close the PDA is complete they will most likely try giving him the 1 ml every 3 hours depending on his tolerance!

I haven't gone into the NICU yet today, but when I do I will update everyone with some new pictures.  I"m hoping in the next day or two we get to hold Joseph for the first time, so that will be something to look forward to this week.  Also, depending on how both boys are doing on their oxygen and other needs, the boys could possibly be moved into the same room by the end of the week or next week!!!  We're not assuming that is going to happen, and we don't want to rush anything, but it's exciting for us to think they will be next to each other again!  We'll say our prayers that they can come off of some of their equipment so that can happen! 


UPDATE 8/19/2013 4:00 PM:  Well it took until day 9 for Nicholas to start giving us some headaches.  We received a call early this afternoon that his hemoglobin levels were significantly decreased compared to Friday, and that he was looking a little pale. The first thing that the nurses and doctors worry about in this case are infections, and bleeds occurring in the brain.  They started Nicholas on his antibiotics while his blood was sent to the lab to identify if an infection was present.  The doctor ordered a head scan of Nicholas as well to make sure it wasn't a bleed on his brain.  Bleeds can occur for no apparent reason and depending on the severity can cause no damage, or long term developmental issues, but the Doctor stated that since his vital signs were remaining pretty stable they didn't believe that a bleed was present.  They ordered a blood transfusion for Nicholas to bring up his red blood cell count, while they continued to examine the cause of the sudden drop.  It's also not uncommon for premature babies to have a drop in hemoglobin just because, but the Dr. didn't think a drop of this big had no explanation.  The doctor just now informed us that there was some blood in his stool, which could indicate a bleed in his intestines, they did a stomach x-ray and found nothing outside of the abdomen which is good, but they have a GI specialist looking at him now.  They are also giving him the necessary fluids to help increase his blood clotting, to hopefully stop whatever may be causing his issue.  We will keep everyone posted on his status as we find out new information.  His vital stats have remained stable so we are hoping this is just a little bump in the road for Nick, and we will not have any further complications today!

Joseph on the other hand is improving, and he has been increased to 3 ml of milk every 3 hours.  He has started to put on weight again so we hope that he will continue to progress at a slow and steady pace.  We really think the boys switched incubators though since we got so used to Joseph giving us some problems, and Nicholas was just hanging out, but Nicholas has built up his good day bank to allow for 1 not so good one today!!!  Please keep praying for both boys, and let's hope that my next update will show good progress for both Nicholas and Joseph!!!

Joseph being watched by St. Rocco and Guardian Angel!!

Little Nick not feeling so hot, needs some love, also being watched by St. Rocco and his Guardian Angel!

One Week!!!

It's been one week since the boys were born, and as much as I feel that time has crept along very slowly, realistically it's gone pretty fast, and that's probably because we've had a good run of days since last Monday.  It's hard to explain because as much as we don't want to miss out on anything with the boys, we want time to speed up a few months to a point where we know they are safe and  able to come home! With that being said, the boys are doing good and that's all we can ask for right now.

Today is the feast of St. Rocco, which as many of you know has been a family tradition of ours for years dating back to when my Grandpa was involved.  The feast is celebrated on the Sunday closest to August 16th of every year, which is the date St. Rocco is traditionally honored. St. Rocco is the patron saint of the sick, so this year the feast becomes even more important to myself and our family, as we pray that our two new boys will overcome their challenges soon, and join their family at home!  My wife will be unable to attend this year, she is still recovering from her surgery, but she is doing great, but won't be able to walk all day with the feast.  Vince and I will be attending together and saying lots of prayers for our family.

I saw the boys this morning and they are still stable, so no change is great news to us of course!  Nicholas was being a little feisty this morning, which was a little unusual for him, but Joseph was nice and relaxed, still sunbathing!  Nicholas had his oxygen up to 30% this morning, but that's okay, the nurses said you can expect to have him go up and down for a few weeks.  Joseph was at 52%, but again nothing out of the ordinary for premature infants.

I hope everyone has a relaxing and blessed Sunday!  I will not only be saying prayers for my boys today, but also for all of the families who have been affected by Twin to Twin Transfusion,  as well as for all families who have loved ones who are ill, and that they may recover quickly!!!  Happy St. Rocco!!!

St. Rocco

 UPDATE 8/18/2013 9:30 PM:  Today was another good day, Vince and I along with many others got to celebrate the feast of St. Rocco.  It was a long day, but filled with lots of love, and many prayers directed towards Nicholas and Joseph.  Here is a picture of me doing a tiny part in helping bring healing and health to my boys, but I must mention that Auntie Sheri also carried St. Rocco today for her nephews!!!

Vince was amazing today as him and I had another good bonding day.  We lit candles for his brothers, and he marched along side of St. Rocco the whole day!!!  I would be lying if I said it wasn't an emotional day for me, but having Vince there with me really helped, and I know he will be a terrific big brother!!!

The boys are doing good once again, Joseph got his PICC line in, and seems to be really comfortable, especially when he gets to lie on his stomach!  His oxygen was brought down a little bit to the mid 40's which is another good sign.  He will have an echo tomorrow and my Wife and I will get to meet with the cardiologist on Wednesday to discuss his treatment thus far and what we can expect moving forward.

Nicholas has gained another 1 1/3 oz. today!!! After a morning of going up and down with his oxygen levels apparently all he needed was a good bowel movement and he was comfortable again :).  My Wife said that after he had that, his oxygen levels stabilized and he was able to come back down to 24% oxygen assistance from the CPAP machine.

After a day of prayer and reflection during the celebration of St. Rocco, I can't stop thinking about all of the love and support we have received.  Today I spoke to people whom I barely know, and they were saying how much they have been praying for our boys and they hope that everything will be okay.  I was truly touched by the amount of people who have shared our situation with others, and knowing that we have a very large support group behind us will continue to give my Wife and I the strength we need to help our two new little boys come home!!! Thank you from the bottom of our hearts, we love you all!!!

Little Joey sporting some shades, and a HUGE pacifier!!! Goodnight Little Man!!!

Little Nick, sleeping a lot like Daddy!!!  Goodnight Buddy!!!