Keeping Odd Hours

Randi and I have been settling into a routine this last week. I have gone back to work, and Randi is at home recovering from surgery. We have been trying to visit the boys twice a day in the afternoons and evenings. We are also able to call at any time for updates on how they are doing. Randi has been cheating a little and driving up to the hospital for visits between 2-6 p.m., and I usually meet her up there after work. We then go home, grab something to eat, and return for either the 8-10 p.m. or 11 p.m.-1 a.m. visitation. We prefer the 11-1 period because there is hardly anyone there, we can get more assistance from the nurses, and not have to listen to the constant "pings" of monitors as the other babies get stimulation from their parents. Although, this does not bode well for getting up early for work.

We have been able to hold both Wyatt and Parks regularly. We are able to feed, bathe, change, check vitals, and recently Randi has been able to nurse Parks during our visits as well. He has been taken off IV nourishment in hopes that he will gain weight from breast milk alone. They are steadily increasing his feeds about 5 ml per day. He is currently up to 40 ml per feeding with our goal being 60 ml in order for him to go home. We had a very encouraging day yesterday when Randi successfully nursed him for 15 minutes, and it appeared that he took in a good amount because he would not take very much from the bottle afterwards. Parks still has a little bit of jaundice, but his levels continue to drop each day. We also had echo's done on both boys' hearts. Parks results looked very good. He only showed a slight intermittent heart murmur. Most likely he will be making his departure from the ICN sometime this week.

Wyatt is, of course, on a much slower pace. He is still in the isolette regulating his body temperature. He is on continuous feeds via a nasogastric tube. They have been steadily increasing his feeds and decreasing his TPN, additional fluids and nourishment. We are still concerned about his little bowels. He has been taking the feeds well, but has not had many bowel movements. Sometimes his intestines appear to be distended. The nurses and neonatologists are keeping a close eye on what he does here. They weigh his stool, measure his belly circumference, check his stool for blood, and look for the twists and turns of his intestines to show through visibly on his belly. All of this to try and ward off any complications. Recently, on a bad day, they took an x-ray of his intestines to make sure they were no blockages. They did not appear to be so, and he was finally able to use the bathroom with stimulation. Wyatt also has had his heart checked out with an echo cardiogram. He also showed the benign, intermittent heart murmur the Parks did, but no real issues with him either. We are still projecting another 3-4 weeks that he will be in the ICN before we can take him home. All in all, he appears to be doing very well. We are a little on the paranoid side because what we've read tells us that severely growth restricted babies do well at first and then begin to have complications days to weeks after birth. The Lord has been so faithful as have you all, and we know that He is in control. He has blessed us beyond what we could have imagined. We just have to continue to give this one to God and let him handle it.