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!!!