Sorry, it’s been awhile again…
Anders is growing and improving steadily. He is now up just over 5lbs and has officially outgrown his preemie clothes. Due to his prematurity and extreme low birth weight, he has what they are calling “chronic lung disease” which he will out-grow as he matures. He still has a nasal canula which is providing him with slight oxygen and pressure to help him along. His ROP should also show some improvement soon as they boys approach their “full-term” due date of July 2nd. He also continues to bottle feed every-other time and has not yet found the energy to empty a full bottle on his own regularly. We are unsure of his homecoming but are grateful to see such strong progress.
Asher had a setback today as Dad brought him in to the neurologist to take another look at his reservoir and brain ventricles as his head had grown rapidly over the past couple weeks. The ultra sound showed that there was an increase in size in his ventricles and a buildup of fluid, thus they are going to schedule him for surgery to get a shunt placed. The shunt will be a tube that will drain the fluid in his ventricle down into his stomach. It is most likely that he will require a shunt for the rest of his life, but it should not affect his growth or activity. The only concerns are for infection and malfunction or clogging. Until he gets a little bigger and fatter, you will be able to see the shunt and the tube in his head but they should eventually be undetectable. Despite the growing pressure in his head, Asher is still our little mover. It is rare that to find him asleep in his crib in the position to which we laid him down in. He constantly maneuvers himself sideways and upside down – I think he will be quite the handful as they get older, good thing we have a durable baby gate and a couple of “watch” dogs (I use watch very generously).
Aaron continues to grow and be a handful for mom & dad. He is now over 8lbs and shows-off his strong vocal capabilities regularly around dinner time. He will go from sound asleep to full melt-down in about three seconds. The biggest struggle for this guy these days is keeping his tummy full and the nuk in his mouth, but he shows promising improvement in both areas which makes everyone very happy.
Mom heads back to work this week, so Dad will be tending to the herd (of goats and rottweilers). I’ve already instructed the boys that they should not allow their dad to let them watch too much Sports Center and they need to get their rest.
Funny story of this week… Dad found Athena in her kennel with a nuk, we assume she is just trying to fit in and get some attention.
Weight update: Aaron (8lb 2oz*), Asher (7lb 7oz), Anders (5lbs 1oz)
Stay tuned for some new pictures, Mom has to upload them and delete some old ones since CB will only allow 51 photos…
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
It’s all about weight gain this week …
Aaron continues to pack on the weight, we don’t quite know his official statistics but he is substantially heavier that Asher – our guess is around 7 1/2lbs. He has had a pretty uneventful week; the most excitement was “tummy time” where he began practicing his head lifting skills. He is getting close, but still has some more training to do before he can flip his head from side to side just yet.
Asher has also been packing on the pounds, from Monday to Friday last week he put on 10oz which now puts him way over the 6lb mark! He is an awesome sleeper and is getting better at bottling – the two easiest ways to get on the “mommy-all star” list.
Anders is also gaining weight steadily; he is now over the 4lb mark! Other big news for him is that he is now sleeping in a big boy bed (hospital crib). His breathing is also getting a lot better and they have slowly been increasing his bottling.
Asher and Anders had another eye exam this week, no increase or worsening of their condition and the doctors are hopeful as they approach their 38/40 week mark were the condition should have a major turning point as they approach full term age and development. Their condition “should” only get better after 38/40 weeks so it’s a matter of monitoring them closely until then to keep a head of any progression to treat it immediately to avoid any long term damage.
Funny story of this week… Grandma Vicki was over the other day helping out so mom could take a nap, but somehow Anders’ preemie clothes got mixed in with the new born clothes so when Grandma went to change Aaron after one of his “accidents” he got put or stuffed into a preemie outfit. Thus giving way to his new nick-name “Tank”, it was that or “Chunk” but mom thought “Tank” was more “appropriate”.
Weight update: Aaron (7lb 3oz*), Asher (6bs 5oz), Anders (4lbs 3oz)
*unofficial /undocumented weight
Aaron continues to pack on the weight, we don’t quite know his official statistics but he is substantially heavier that Asher – our guess is around 7 1/2lbs. He has had a pretty uneventful week; the most excitement was “tummy time” where he began practicing his head lifting skills. He is getting close, but still has some more training to do before he can flip his head from side to side just yet.
Asher has also been packing on the pounds, from Monday to Friday last week he put on 10oz which now puts him way over the 6lb mark! He is an awesome sleeper and is getting better at bottling – the two easiest ways to get on the “mommy-all star” list.
Anders is also gaining weight steadily; he is now over the 4lb mark! Other big news for him is that he is now sleeping in a big boy bed (hospital crib). His breathing is also getting a lot better and they have slowly been increasing his bottling.
Asher and Anders had another eye exam this week, no increase or worsening of their condition and the doctors are hopeful as they approach their 38/40 week mark were the condition should have a major turning point as they approach full term age and development. Their condition “should” only get better after 38/40 weeks so it’s a matter of monitoring them closely until then to keep a head of any progression to treat it immediately to avoid any long term damage.
Funny story of this week… Grandma Vicki was over the other day helping out so mom could take a nap, but somehow Anders’ preemie clothes got mixed in with the new born clothes so when Grandma went to change Aaron after one of his “accidents” he got put or stuffed into a preemie outfit. Thus giving way to his new nick-name “Tank”, it was that or “Chunk” but mom thought “Tank” was more “appropriate”.
Weight update: Aaron (7lb 3oz*), Asher (6bs 5oz), Anders (4lbs 3oz)
*unofficial /undocumented weight
Thursday, June 10, 2010
I’m SOOO sorry that I haven’t updated the journal in awhile; needless to say we have been busy J
Where to begin …
Asher came home a week ago as planned and has been doing GREAT! He is a wonderful sleeper and has a very mellow disposition as he is very patient with mom and dad as they try to figure out how to manage two babies. We are thankful on a daily basis that he “lets” Aaron eat first, this is essential because it allows for one person to care for both of them quite easily. Asher has also had a few follow-up appointments since he came home. He had his pediatric check up; he is doing well but needs to pack on a few more pounds like his big brother. He also had a neurology follow-up, his ultra sound and exam were AWESOME – they showed no change so he is good for another month!
The newest issue for Asher and Anders are their eyes. It is common for premature babies to have eye developmental issues due to everything they are exposed to. They both have stage two ROP (Retinopathy of Prematurity). Abnormal blood vessels and scar tissue can grow over the retina in premature babies with ROP. The causes of ROP are not completely understood. The retinal blood vessels in some very small, premature babies seem to develop abnormally during the therapy necessary for the infant's survival. It is difficult to predict whether vision will be affected in the long term. In many infants, the abnormal blood vessels shrink or go away without affecting vision. In other infants with more extensive disease, bleeding and scar tissue may lead to distortion or detachment of the retina. This may result in moderate to severe loss of vision. Only a very small percentage of babies become blind. THUS fingers crossed that both will resolve their ROP on their own!
Anders is also doing really well too. He had a round of steroids to help jump start his lung development in an effort to reduce his oxygen requirements. We saw great improvement in his breathing and started bottle feeding, however the treatment has a “rebound” effect and earlier this week we saw a slight regression in his progress. They have pulled back on his bottle feeding since he is exerting more energy in his breathing efforts and has not been gaining weight steadily. They are also looking into his elevated bilirubin levels to rule out any possible liver complications, it is most likely that the elevated levels are due to the TPN nutrition that he was receiving before and after his PDA surgery.
Aaron is still the super star, he is gaining weight rapidly and we can barely keep up determining how much milk to put in his bottle. He is very vocal and demanding when he wants to eat. Aaron also continues to be a “noisy” sleeper and is lucky that his brother loves him so much, but honestly some nights it sounds like we have a pair of goats in the next room.
The big boys spend their days bonding with grunts and farts. Little Andy spends his days soaking in all the special treatment and peacefulness before he comes home - it seems his days are numbered in the hospital as he just moved from the NICU to ICC (infant critical care) so we are hoping he can still make it home before the fourth of July.
Aunt Sara has been a god-send helping mom and dad a couple nights a week so they can take turns getting some much needed sleep!
And a special thank you to all of you who have signed up and delivered meals via MealBaby – they are a great help and we appreciate them greatly!
Funny story of this week… it took mom and dad two days (14+feedings) to realize that the big boys were ready for medium flow nipples, thus taking the 45-60 min feedings down to less than 15! We won’t make that mistake again J
Weight update: Aaron (6lb 3oz), Asher (5lbs 11oz), Anders (3lbs 9oz)
Where to begin …
Asher came home a week ago as planned and has been doing GREAT! He is a wonderful sleeper and has a very mellow disposition as he is very patient with mom and dad as they try to figure out how to manage two babies. We are thankful on a daily basis that he “lets” Aaron eat first, this is essential because it allows for one person to care for both of them quite easily. Asher has also had a few follow-up appointments since he came home. He had his pediatric check up; he is doing well but needs to pack on a few more pounds like his big brother. He also had a neurology follow-up, his ultra sound and exam were AWESOME – they showed no change so he is good for another month!
The newest issue for Asher and Anders are their eyes. It is common for premature babies to have eye developmental issues due to everything they are exposed to. They both have stage two ROP (Retinopathy of Prematurity). Abnormal blood vessels and scar tissue can grow over the retina in premature babies with ROP. The causes of ROP are not completely understood. The retinal blood vessels in some very small, premature babies seem to develop abnormally during the therapy necessary for the infant's survival. It is difficult to predict whether vision will be affected in the long term. In many infants, the abnormal blood vessels shrink or go away without affecting vision. In other infants with more extensive disease, bleeding and scar tissue may lead to distortion or detachment of the retina. This may result in moderate to severe loss of vision. Only a very small percentage of babies become blind. THUS fingers crossed that both will resolve their ROP on their own!
Anders is also doing really well too. He had a round of steroids to help jump start his lung development in an effort to reduce his oxygen requirements. We saw great improvement in his breathing and started bottle feeding, however the treatment has a “rebound” effect and earlier this week we saw a slight regression in his progress. They have pulled back on his bottle feeding since he is exerting more energy in his breathing efforts and has not been gaining weight steadily. They are also looking into his elevated bilirubin levels to rule out any possible liver complications, it is most likely that the elevated levels are due to the TPN nutrition that he was receiving before and after his PDA surgery.
Aaron is still the super star, he is gaining weight rapidly and we can barely keep up determining how much milk to put in his bottle. He is very vocal and demanding when he wants to eat. Aaron also continues to be a “noisy” sleeper and is lucky that his brother loves him so much, but honestly some nights it sounds like we have a pair of goats in the next room.
The big boys spend their days bonding with grunts and farts. Little Andy spends his days soaking in all the special treatment and peacefulness before he comes home - it seems his days are numbered in the hospital as he just moved from the NICU to ICC (infant critical care) so we are hoping he can still make it home before the fourth of July.
Aunt Sara has been a god-send helping mom and dad a couple nights a week so they can take turns getting some much needed sleep!
And a special thank you to all of you who have signed up and delivered meals via MealBaby – they are a great help and we appreciate them greatly!
Funny story of this week… it took mom and dad two days (14+feedings) to realize that the big boys were ready for medium flow nipples, thus taking the 45-60 min feedings down to less than 15! We won’t make that mistake again J
Weight update: Aaron (6lb 3oz), Asher (5lbs 11oz), Anders (3lbs 9oz)
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