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!!!!