Overdue Update, Jace hits 4lbs!

Hey all,

There has been quite a lot going on since the last update but our computer was on the fritz.We wanted to update  the blog with pictures too so here is a long overdue update. Jocie came off oxygen on July17th and they attempted with Jace. He was only off for a about a day and had to go back on. We were told this is normal in the transitioning period. Since then he has come off and now both are off and have stayed off.  Both Jace and Jocie have started bottle and breast feeding and are doing pretty good. Niki is finding that bottle feeding is a little more difficult than breast feeding! Jace had been doing so good that they took out his feeding tube for a day or so. He had some problems keeping all his feedings down so they put it back in. He still could be days away from having it removed again. Its an interesting time not only for them learning a new skill but for us as well. They bottle feed so different so its a lot of trial and error trying to get ones habits down, let a lone both of them since they feed so different. Practice makes perfect and we are figuring it out pretty quick. The twins had also had doubled their body weight on July 17th as well, another mini milestone.

Things are moving along on a number of fronts. Jace hit 4 pounds last night (yay!) and Jocie is right behind him 3oz away. There is talk about moving them to an open crib soon and we are excited about that. The twins will be home before we know it, probably in 3 weeks or so. Its getting close!

Growing Phase!!!

These two are getting so BIG!  Tiny still to most but HUGE to us :)  One of the nurses said we are getting into the growing phase and I guess she meant it when she said it.  Jace is now 3 lb 5 oz and Jocie is 3 lb 2 oz!!!  Just in the past couple of days they have each gained about 3 oz!!!  They are still both on oxygen but the nurses are slowly beginning to wean them off by taking the nasal canula out for hours at time.  They have stopped the caffeine on both of them (yes, they have been getting their daily jolt since about a couple weeks after birth!).  The caffeine is used to help stimulate their overall neuro system as it was so immature.  They have a couple of times fit into little premie onesies that the nurses placed on them to keep them warm if their temp's were a little cool in their incubator (clothes were still big on them yes but wasn't too bad!).  They have also been doing well with bottle/breast feeding a few times a day and the rest of their feedings coming through the feeding tubes.  And a "first" for mom - Jace sent some projectile poop flying and then came the fountain of pee just afterward (at least we have to wear a gown when we are with them!).  We know, we know - it won't be the worse we see :) 

The next big milestones we are looking forward to is when they are weaned off the oxygen (maybe in the next week or two?) and are able to go into an open plaster crib (maybe in a week or two as well? - this will happen when they get big enough to keep their own body heat in). 

40 Days....

We can't believe it's been 40 days already that Jace & Jocie came into our lives.  Here's the catch up from the past week:  Jocie got put back onto oxygen with the nasal canula on Friday so she was able to be off oxygen for about 5 days.  We are hoping she will be able to come back off of it soon because she seems to be much more comfortable without the tube on her face when she sleeps :)  Jace is still on oxygen but has been improving as he has been requiring less assistance from it.  Jace & Jocie both latched on to breast feed twice.  A couple of other times were attempted but they were just too tired.  They are still getting all of their nutritional needs through the breast milk boosted with a calorie fortifier via a feeding tube through their nose but showing they know to latch, suck, & swallow is a good sign when they make the slow progression from tube feedings to bottle/breast feeding.  Their feedings up until this past week have been on continuous feeds.  They have since been attempted to have what is called consolidated feedings which means the same amount they get within a 4 hour period they are receiving in a 2 hour period with 2 hours of no feeds.  This is an attempt to get them to complete bolus feeds similar to an infant being fed once every 2-3 hours.  They have been having a difficult time with this though as they have been having increased residual and some spitting up but it's a day by day - and feeding by feeding situation.  On Saturday they received their first eye exam which is pretty stressful for the babies.  So far the exam came out as expected with no major concerns at this time.  Their next exams will occur every two weeks.  A couple of fun little "firsts" for us this past week was seeing their first goofy reflexive smile while sleeping (so cute!) and we gave them "sponge baths" (just using wet wipes - no submerging into water just yet).  And, they graduated their diapers up a preemie size!!!  Their sizes now are Jace @ 2 lb. 13.9 oz and Jocie @ 2 lb. 11.2 oz so they are both almost a pound bigger than their birth weights!

Happy 30 days and 4th of July from Jace and Jocie!

A few milestones this week for Jace and Jocie. First, they turned 30 days old on June 30th! The nurses in the NICU do an awesome job with pictures for our little ones as you will see. They even dressed them up for the 4th! Second is they put them into the same Isolette. This is the first time they have been back together since birth. They were a little stressed for a few days but adjusted as brothers and sisters do by elbowing, hitting, rolling and of course cuddling with each other. After the adjustment they both continue to gain weight. Jace is 2.10 and Jocie is 2.7 pounds. Multivitamins were added to their milk in addition to the fortifier this week to help with growth. Both are also still on EPO for red blood cells and will continue with doses every other day. Probably the best news of the day was that Jocie is now off the nasal canula! She looks soooo much better and we can actually see her nose. Im sure that she is so much happier.Thanks for checking the update.