Catching Up again...

Last wednesday 6/22 Jace had his PICC line removed. His feedings have been going really well and the Docs decided it was the next step. They have added the fortifier to Niki's milk to add calories to the feeds to try and make them more dense for him. On Saturday Jace lost is regular IV and is now only on the feedings. His IV fizzled as all of them wear out sooner or later, and  it had to be removed and started in a new location. The nurses tried to start a new one a few times but with no  success. Jace was what they called "dry" for a couple days and during this time Jocie acutally passed him in weight! On friday Jace got his first shot of EPO to help his red blood cell count- (yes that is the same drug that distance athletes use).

On thursday Jocie had her PICC line removed as well as the docs felt she had progressed enough. They removed her regular IV as well so now both are just on the feedings. Also on Friday they added the fortifier for Jocie.
Both Jace and Jocie had some goobers in their eyes and are getting drops to help. Neither one had a positive lab on the culture so that is good.

A lot of feeding and growing last week. Jace is now 2.7 and Jocie is 2.5 as of yesterday. They think that soon they will share an Isolette and be together again :) It should be interesting. Jace is much more squirmy than Jocie and might annoy her when they are side by side. Hopefully he will behave!

Quick update/pics of growing babies!

Jace

These are some pictures that the nurses had made up for Fathers Day. It was really nice of them. Jace continues to tolerate feedings well and is now at 2lb 4oz!

Jocie

Jocie is also tolerating the feeding well and first reached 2lbs on saturday the 18th. As of today sheweighs in at 2lb 2oz. She is following in the footsteps of her brother and hopes to catch him!

Forgot One More Thing!

Jace reached the 2 lb mark!!!  And Jocie is close behind at 1 lb 15 oz now.  Their weight will still continue to fluctuate but it's like he's a big boy now that we can say 2 lbs!!

Catching Up........

WOW....16 days old now!!!  Here's the latest on Jace and Jocie's progress and our "firsts" as parents :)  More pictures to be posted soon.

Sunday June 12th: 
Cody held Jace for the first time and changed his first diaper ever!!!  Jace did well for him!

Monday June 13th:
Jocie was taken off the nasal canula to just breathe on her own for a couple of hours and she did well!  They do that to just build her stamina.  They both began taking medication to hopefully help close the valve to decrease/eliminate their heart murmurs.  They both restarted their feedings and Jace FINALLY pooped!  Apparently he was saving up because the nurse said it was a good one!

Tuesday June 14th: 
Jace and Jocie got to meet their aunt Angi and Tami for the first time!  Jace required another blood transfusion and both were able to increase their feedings.

Wednesday 15th:
Cody changed his first diaper with Jocie and she wasn't as nice to him as her brother on Monday - it got to be Cody's first poopy diaper (mom has yet to experience it!).  She was such a squirmy worm that she ended up with some on her foot and the new diaper so this one wasn't as easy!  Lots more for us to learn I guess :)  They also took an x-ray of Jocie's stomach to be sure she has been tolerating her feedings.  She won't show much residual but her belly gets pretty distended.  The x-ray showed she is tolerating the feedings but it's just that she gets a lot of air in her belly throughout the day from the nasal canula.  Poor little girl because that cannot be comfortable.  But they extract air out of her belly throughout the day.

Kangaroo Care - Times TWO!!!

We got to hold Jace last night for the first time (Saturday)!!!  I held him for the hour of kangaroo care while Cody held Jocie for the first time for the hour of kangaroo care.  I also heard Jace "cry" for the first time (they were more like those grunting/just waking up sounds).  I also changed my first diaper - with some help from the nurse - they are just so little!  Lots of firsts last night.
They were also able to successfully place the PICC line in for Jace and increase his feedings a bit as he was doing well with them.  They started the medication for Jocie's heart murmur to hopefully help the Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA) which is a condition in which a blood vessel called the ductus arteriosus fails to close normally in an infant soon after birth.  Both Jace and Jocie have the condition as of now but hers continues to be loud while Jace's appears to be getting quieter.  Hopefully this will help close the valve.

Good Day!!!

Jocie was taken off the c-pap and is now on the nasal canula.  Jace was extubated and went straight to the nasal canula as well!  Hopefully he shows he has enough lung support so he doesn't need to be reintubated.  Jocie's head ultrasound came back negative for hemorrhages.  They are both still off the light so we get to see their sweet little faces without so many tubes, converings, and premie shades on!!  I got to hold Jocie for another hour too.  They are going to try to place a PICC line in Jace again tomorrow.  All in all it was an 'up' on the roller coaster ride.

Kangaroo Care

Today Jace began some feedings - again.  Jocie will restart hers tomorrow.  We will see how long their tolerance holds this second go round.  They attempted placing a PICC line in Jace but they were unable to thread it through his vein so they will try again tomorrow.  His head ultrasound came back negative so no hemorrhages are present.  He also FINALLY had a sliver of poop!  Jocie had already pooped a couple of times now - oh the joys of children and talking about POOP! 
The biggest news for Jocie is that I got to start Kangaroo Care with her which is a technique used with preterm babies where the baby is held skin-to-skin on the chest for at least an hour - or as tolerated.  She tolerated it well and was able to keep her body temperature up against my body.  She felt so little against my skin!  It was an awesome feeling to hold her like that.

Holding Jocie pics

Here are the pictures from our first time holding Jocie on Wednesday June 8th.

Catching up from last week.

Wednesday June 1^st – Our first full day that we realized we are parents – proud mom and dad!  It’s hard to really feel like a mom and dad though when you aren’t the one taking care of them.  Over time that will change though once we are able to hear them cry and hold them down the road.

Thursday June 2^nd – Jocie required a bit of medicine (it’s like receiving a jolt of caffeine) for her heart rate and Jace needed more oxygen.  This is something that will be a constant up and down.  Both were still within tolerance.  We saw Jace’s eye for the first time – but only one because he can’t open both together when he wakes up (another trait from dad!).

Friday June 3^rd – Big day of tests for them both.  Chest x-ray, echo, and ultrasound of the brain.  Both had results as expected with the chest x-ray and echo which means they both have heart murmurs from a valve that has not yet had time to close yet.  This is something they will monitor over time to see if it closes on its own.  If not there is a medicine they can give but it is only effective if given in the first 3 weeks.  Jocie also had to have a PICC line put in through a vein in her arm because the line they were using through her belly button to give her nutrients and medicine began to ooze.  Jace will eventually get a PICC line as well but they typically like to wait until about a week to a week in a half of age.  The delicate procedure went well.

Saturday June 4^th – Jocie was on her belly so we saw her cute little butt for the first time!  In the evening a rash that had started a couple of days ago that they thought was just from skin irritation from tape has appeared to have spread down on her legs and up onto her arms.  They think it may be a yeast infection and so they have her covered in goop.  Niki saw Jace’s little guy for the first time!

Sunday June 5^th – Jocie was extubated in the mid morning and got a c-pap.  Our first time seeing her have bradycardio (e.g., apnea) which basically means she stopped breathing.  Scariest moment thus far but apparently is as expected with preemies when the get weaned from the respirator as they get use to doing more of the breathing work themselves.  We were also told they began medicine through the IV to help with her yeast infection that is all over her little skin and possibly on the tip of her tongue.  Jace no longer has the light as his billy ruben count was within a normal range.  We got to see him for the first time under normal lighting and without the shades on!  However, we were told he may require it again as they monitor his count.  We heard Jocie with a little squeal for the first time since birth when the nurse was doing some of her care and we also saw her eyes open for the first time!

Monday June 6^th - Jace was put back under the light for jaundice.  Jocie’s rash is looking better.  Jocie began feedings through a tube.

Tuesday June 7^th – Jocie’s feedings were stopped as she began to display too much residual in her system.  This is a common thing to occur and they will constantly go from feedings for a day or two or three to backing off for a day or two.  Jace began his feedings through his tube.  Jocie was off of her light for jaundice.

Wednesday June 8^th –Jocie is back on her light for jaundice.  Jace’s feeding had to be stopped.  Jace began receiving medicine (steroids) to help boost his lung development in hopes of weaning him from the breathing tube.  Hopefully this will strengthen his lungs so he can get off the respirator and onto c-pap like Jocie.  WE GOT TO HOLD JOCIE FOR THE FIRST TIME!!!  This was really exciting (pics to follow)!  She did well.  Her heart rate was a bit high but she only had one moment of bradycardia. 

Posts migtht be more detailed from now on but we just wanted to get caught up and get the blog started before we got too far behind. This is a work in progress so please bare with us. Thanks!!

Their journey of life

Their Journey OF life……

Tuesday May 31^{st (}their birthday!):  My first site of Jace and Jocie in the NICU looked like this:  they are both in their own incubator that is temperature and humidity controlled.  They also have preemie shades on to protect their eyes from the light to treat them for jaundice.  Of course there is a ton of tubes running in their arms and mouth and nose – some for IV to give them nutrients, some to give antibiotics, and a respirator tube to help them breath going through their mouth into their lungs.  I didn’t really take note of much else – I just wanted to look at them and not all the tubes and equipment.  I got to touch them for the first time through the incubator.  The touch was simply placing my finger onto their little bodies.  There was no stroking or patting like a mother’s instinct would typically do as preemies are not use to that time of touch on their delicate skin.  I’m sure I was told various bits of information that night from the nurses but I don’t really recall much of it.  I could not sleep that night – as the nurse had me start pumping every 3 hours to freeze and store breast milk once they would be reading for feedings hopefully within a week.  I just kept running the events leading up to the delivery in my head.  I couldn’t wait for it to be morning so I could see them again.

Their journey to life...

Tuesday May 31^st – The morning began with me deciding to call my clinic because I had noticed a mild cramping in combination with the Braxton Hicks.  I had been experiencing Braxton Hicks for about a week or two but never in combination with cramping.  I first began to notice the mild cramping on Sunday while shopping in Portland during a weekend getaway with Cody.  On the drive home that night I noticed that the cramping seemed to happen on a regular basis so I decided to time them.  They were 9-10 minutes apart and would last for about 20-30 seconds.  I called my sister to ask her about what contractions should feel like and she said it sounded like something to call an on-call doctor about.  So I called the on-call doctor at about 11:30 p.m. and told him what I was experiencing.  He told me that since I was only 26 weeks it was probably just round ligament pain so I was to take some Ibuprofen when I got home and put my legs up.  I questioned him by asking about how they seemed to be happening on a schedule and he told me contractions would bring tears to my eyes and would occur every 5 minutes or less and last a minute or longer.  Since what I was experiencing was occurring less frequently and in shorter duration without moderate to severe pain I decided to take his advice.  I could not call my doctor at the clinic Monday morning because it was closed due to the holiday so I went about my day still feeling the occasional cramps but I just moved through them.  Tuesday morning I called my clinic so I could see my doctor and find out if there would be any type of restrictions for me during the week as my next appointment wasn’t until the following Monday.  I wanted to be sure the activity level I had was still okay.  My doctor was out so I saw a different doctor.  When I left for work I told Cody I would see him at the appointment and he didn’t think he was going to go to this one.  I told him it would be nice since he had been at all of my other appointments (it was always nice for me to have an extra set of ears).  I explained to the doctor why I was there and what I had been experiencing.  He asked if my regular doctor had been checking my cervix at my appointments and I told him he was going to be doing so at my next appointment the following week.  When he checked my cervix he told me I was dilated 3 cm.  Cody and I had no idea what this meant.  The doctor told me it meant I would go to the hospital, check in, and I would be on bed rest for the remainder of the pregnancy.  He said they would give me medication to slow things down.  His overall goal for me was to make it to 32 weeks.  I kept giving myself a pep talk of “I can do six weeks of bed rest”.  So Cody and I checked into the hospital and got settled into a room while the nurses gave me magnesium through an IV.  I was hooked up to monitor that showed the babies’ heart rates as well as the timing of the contractions.  About 20 minutes after receiving the magnesium I noticed the timing of the contractions were occurring closer together and they were getting a bit more painful.  I asked the nurse when the medicine is suppose to start taking effect and she told me that she had called for the doctor to come look at the screen.  When I asked if that meant the medicine should have started working and if it was concerning she repeated her self and said “Yes, I am concerned”.  My heart didn’t completely sink not knowing yet what this meant but I was getting nervous.  The doctor came over and looked at the screen and said there was other medications he could attempt.  While he walked away to tell another nurse what medication to get for me a felt something wet.  I told the nurse that I thought maybe my water broke.  She asked the doctor to come examine me.  He checked me and instantly told the nurses to hold the medicine and book the OR – he told me I was having my babies that day.  I looked at him with what had to have been the most confused look on my face and asked him “So there is no way this can be stopped?” and he replied with “You’re having these babies within the hour”.  I looked at Cody and just cried and told him this can’t be happening because it’s too early.  They had Cody quickly get into some scrubs.  When he came out I was whisked away to the OR immediately.  I had Cody call my mom and tell her to start driving from Moses Lake immediately.  Just a little under two hours from arriving to my room for bed rest I was in the OR with a roomful of doctors, nurses, and anesthesiologist.  I was given an epidural; however, Jocie was delivered just 18 minutes from getting into the OR allowing little time for it to take effect.  After delivering Jocie I was having difficulty getting Jace out so I was put under  and he was delivered via c-section just 8 minutes later at 2:41 p.m.  During the entire process the doctor kept telling me the babies are in the best place with Kadlec’s NICU team.  I was so scared and I had no idea what would happen to my babies – would they come out breathing?, what would they look like?, will they be okay?, etc.  I remember after delivering Jocie asking Cody if she was okay because I couldn’t hear her cry.  He looked over at her and looked at me with a blank and scared face until a second later when we heard her cry – and so I did too.  I was so relieved to hear that cry.  I was kept in recovery until I became conscious for a few hours.  When I woke up I was confused, sad, in disbelief, etc.  I was taken to my room and I remember seeing Cody, his parents, and my parents waiting there and I just cried.  I didn’t know where my babies were or how they were doing.  I found out Cody had been with them while I was in recovery and he told me they were doing okay.  However, I still didn’t know the extent to which “okay” meant and at that point I really didn’t want to know yet.  I was even afraid to know how much they weighed.  I did get to see some pictures of them that Cody had.  They were perfect.  She looked so angelic and he looked – well – so much like Cody!  Our little babies – Jocie Nicole Ratliff 1 lb. 12 oz and 13 inches long born at 2:33 p.m. and Jace Kirby Ratliff 1 lb. 15 oz and 13¼ inches long born at 2:41 p.m. at 10:30 p.m.  I finally got to see them in the NICU at 10:30 p.m. that night.