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!!!