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)
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