5 Weeks old

The boys are five weeks old!  

The boys have done well with their bottle feeds so they decided to remove both of their NG tubes.  I love seeing their little faces without any tape on them.  They both weigh about 5 1/2 pounds.  They both moved out of their incubators and into cribs.  

Braden

Dylan

Dyaln

5 Pounds!

The boys both hit 5 lbs today!!

Dylan

Braden

1 month old

I can't believe my sweet boys are already 1 month old.  We've been busy this past week.  My mom brought the boys down for the weekend.  She wanted to visit and hold the boys for her birthday.  It was so nice to see all my boys.  We took all the boys to see the babies.  They loved it.  Chase and Jackson are just a little to busy to be in a hospital room very long.  My mom took them back to the Ronald McDonald house and left Austin with me.   Austin is so sweet with the babies.  He got to hold Braden for the first time and he helped me give him a bath.  He loved it.  He wanted to hold Dylan but it was getting late so we had to leave.  The next day he went back with my mom and spent a few hours with them again.  All the nurses commented on how sweet he was with the babies and were amazed by all the great questions he had.  I have a feeling he's going to be a great help when we get home.

Chase and Dylan

Austin and Braden

Chase and Braden

Braden

Jacob was also able to come visit for a few days.  We had a great time snuggling up with our babies.

The boys have made some great strides over the past week.   We introduced the bottle to both boys.  On the first day Braden wanted nothing to do with it.  We didn't try with Dylan.  On the second day each boy got one bottle each 12 hour shift.  They both drank them pretty well.  Day 3 the decided to offer them at any feed that they showed signs of rooting.  The each drank a couple.  The last 2 days they've been taking 2-3 bottles a day and 1-2 partial bottles.  

Dylan left, Braden right

Dylan weighed in at 4 lbs 14 ounces and Braden weighed in at 4 lbs 15 ounces.

The charge nurse also gave me the criteria they have to meet to be able to go home.

-have to weigh at least 2 kg (they've both surpassed this)

-have to be at least 35 weeks gestational age (we will hit that next week)

-have to take a bottle every feed (should be there in a week or two)

-can not have any bradycardias for 5 consecutive days (they both still have these daily but far less frequently than they used to)

-must be able to regulate their own body temperature (both have no problem here)

We are highly optimistic that they will hit all these milestones by the end of May.  

3 Weeks Old

It's amazing what a pound can do for you.  Braden weighs 4 pounds and Dylan weighs 4 pounds 2 ounces. I just got back from a quick trip home.  I was only gone 2 days but the weight gain on the boys is noticeable.  Their little legs have some fat on them.  It's exciting.  

It was so nice to spend some time with Austin, Chase and Jackson.  I've missed them so much.  It's hard being away from them.  On the bright side, we are 3 weeks down.  Several people have asked how long they expect us to be here.  For now they have said to plan on staying until their due date, which was June 18.  So we are going to plan on 7 more weeks here but keep our fingers crossed that it's less.  

The plan for this week is to:
 -introduce the bottle
 -transition from the incubator to an open crib
 -continue to increase feeds
 -snuggle with grandma for the first time

Pictures to come when I have a computer again.  For now I'm stuck with the iPad and I'm just to lazy.

2 Weeks old!

When I woke up 2 weeks ago I had no idea what was about to happen later that day.  I was just so excited that I had finally hit the 30 weeks  mark in my pregnancy.  I remember thinking it's only a matter of weeks now.  I had no idea that it was really just a matter of hours.  My babies are 2 weeks old.   Oh how I love them!!  We are surrounded by extremely sick little babies right now in the NICU.  My heart breaks for these families.  I have been unbelievably thankful for the many prayers on our behalf.  We have felt very comforted by them.  I know that my sweet babies have been watched over every step of the was and I am extremely humbled.  

2 Weeks Update:

Both boys have started to slowly put weight back on.  They are both handling their feeds very well.  Both boys reached full feeds of 1 oz per day via their NG tubes.  They both still receive caffeine once per day and are on a multivitamin/iron supplement once per day. Both boys had their PCVC lines removed.   Yeah for one less wire!!  Braden continues to have several Bradycardia spells per day.  Dylan usually has a few but not as many.  They both weigh around 3 1/2 pounds.  

A few pics from the last couple of days.

Dylan(left) Braden(right)

Dylan

Braden

Dylan

Braden

Daddy time

Jacob was able to come back down to Phoenix for the weekend.  It's been hard having are family so separated.  While he was here, he was able to get in plenty of cuddle time with the boys. I enjoyed a quick date away from the hospital.

Dad and Braden

Dad and Dylan

First time together

Today was really exciting for me! I got to hold both these little guys together for the first time.   It was fun to watch them squirm and try and get comfortable together.  Dylan tried to snuggle right up to Braden.  Braden on the other hand tried to squirm away every time Dylan tried to get closer.  By the end they ended up about as far away from each other as they could get but their little hands stayed right on top of each other the entire time.  It felt so good to have them in my arms together.  This will always be one of my favorite memories.  

Braden(left) Dylan(right)

A nurse gave each of my boys a little beanie baby toy.  I thought it would be fun to track their growth with it.   

Dylan

Braden