Day 3 - Prayers Continue to Work!!!

Last night went well, and things have remained pretty much the same so far!  We visited the little guys this morning and they seem to be doing just fine right now!  My wife has been able to produce some milk for them already, much more than what the doctors had expected, and the doctors say that even a few drops will be very helpful to the babies gut development, which is another issue they worry about with premature babies.  She has been strong through this process and is doing a great job for these two baby boys!  They will swab the milk into the boys mouths right now, and eventually put the milk in their IV's when they can tolerate it.  Nicholas has already started receiving some, and Joseph will hopefully get some starting today!

Joseph has another echo cardiogram today to see how his heart is doing.  We are hoping that we get good news, but the doctors explained to us that his enlarged heart could take weeks or even months to begin to shrink, so we shouldn't expect too much today.  However we are hoping that there are signs of less stress on his heart now!  We will update on his status once we receive the results.

The NICU here has been truly amazing and although it feels like we've been here forever, the last 48 hours has been made much easier by the wonderful nurses and doctors taking care of our boys.  They have made us so comfortable and also made us aware of everything that is going on in a way that's easy for us to understand.  We are so grateful for their help in this difficult time, and they have our complete confidence that they will get these boys to a healthy state in as little time as possible!

Here is a good morning picture from the boys!  They say "Thank You" to all of the love and support that everyone has given them!!!

Me and Jr.!!!

Nicholas getting his tan on for the ladies!!!

UPDATE 8/13/2013 12:25 PM:  The boys are still pretty stable at this point, and Mommy is doing great resting and getting them the milk they need, so I took a break from the hospital to go spend time with big brother Vince!  He is unaware of what is going on and doesn't seem to know why Mommy has been away for so long, but he is in good spirits, and has seen pictures of his baby brothers on the phone.  It's so hard not to have him see the baby boys, but I know it will be a bigger joy for him and all of us to have Big Brother welcome them home in a few months!

Joseph's medications have been cut in half, and his vitals are still remaining pretty consistent which is a positive today, and Nicholas seems to be doing just fine as well.  Joseph had an EKG this morning, but we are still awaiting the results, and hoping his heart is showing signs of improvement!  Please keep them in your prayers, they are working but we still need more!!!  Our family sends love to all of you who have sent wishes, thoughts and prayers to us during this time, we are truly blessed to have you in our lives!!!

 

Big Bro hanging with the storks!!!

COMMENTS UPDATE:  Some of you have contacted me stating you were having trouble writing comments on the blog, I made some changes to the default settings so if you want to write comments please feel free to do so now!!!  Sorry for the confusion!!!


UPDATE 8/13/2013 8:40 PM:  Well today has seemed to end on a good note!  Joseph's EKG didn't show any additional swelling, and his duct to connect the aorta and pulmonary artery seemed to open just as the doctors had hoped, which led to his overall progress.  The are continuing to monitor him very closely and won't rush to any next steps until they know he is ready!  The heart hasn't shrunk at all yet, but it seems less stressed, and according to his doctor more blood is making it's way from the right ventricle to the pulmonary artery, so that is some good progress!  Also they were going to begin administering the breast milk to Joseph tonight as well, very small increments, but a very good sign!!!  So lots of exciting news on Joseph's front, and your continued prayers and love are helping tremendously!  Nicholas is just being one cool dude!  He really hasn't had any new information other than that he is laying on his stomach tonight!  We are hoping he continues to remain stable and improve every day, he just looks like that kind of kid that will take things pretty easily when he's older!  My wife and I know that we have been truly blessed to have these two boys in our lives at this moment, and we hope that this experience will be looked upon in a positive light in the future, and only preparing us for the stress these two munchkins will undoubtedly bring to us as they grow up together with Vince!  I know I continue to say this but we can't thank everyone enough for all that they have done for us and our family in the past week!  My wife gets to come home on Thursday which will be bittersweet for her as she is super excited to be home with Vince, but doesn't want to be away from Joey and Nick!  (Yes you can call them Joey, Joe, Nick, Nicky, Joseph, Nicholas, Jr., etc) 

One last thing before I sign off for the night though, apparently this has taken a toll on me mentally because I always leave my sunglasses in the hospital room, so tonight while taking Vince to see mommy I lost all sense of my pride and had to resort to this................

NO FURTHER COMMENTS NEEDED!!!

Good night to you all from our family, and we hope to update you with more positive news tomorrow!