On Tuesday afternoon, both Jared and Anthony were put back on CPAP. Jason and I are a little more comfortable with them being on CPAP rather than on nasal cannula right now. It decreases the number of spells that they have and allows them to gain strength without having to expend their energy trying so hard to breathe.
Jared has continued his feedings of 2ccs every 3 hours. There has been some feedings where there were residuals and even some tummy juices left, but since these feedings are just trying to stimulate his belly, there is not cause for concern yet. Tonight they will begin increasing his feedings on the same 4-line protocol that they have been using for Anthony. This means that every fourth feeding increases by 1 cc. As you may remember, Anthony had a few bumps in the road tolerating his feedings, so we kind of expect the same for Jared.
Starting today they have discontinued all antibiotics and anti-fungal medications for Jared. His cultures have continued to come back negative and his tests have been showing improvement as well. His white blood cell count is back to where it should be, so as of right now there are no signs of infection.
Anthony is up to 17ccs every 3 hours now. Last night they began using a pump to administer his milk. The pump holds the syringe and pushes the milk at a set rate through the feeding tube, which takes 30 minutes for each feeding. Prior to this the nurse would just hold the syringe and let it drain into his tummy through the tube. It would take about 5 minutes in total. This is helping with his reflux and he has not been spitting up since the introduction of the pump. It helps his tummy take time to digest it rather than having it rush in all at once.
Due to the amount of Anthony's feedings, they have discontinued his IV fluid and he is strictly on breast milk for nutrients. They add a fortifier to the milk now just to make sure he is receiving enough calories. Since he is not receiving his IV fluids, they removed the PICC line from his arm yesterday. Good news - one less risk area for infection!
Thank you again for your continued thoughts and prayers for our Little Fighters. I tell them every night that they will be so amazed to meet (one day) all of the people who love them and have been praying for them from the very beginning. It means so much to Jason and I to know that we are not in this alone - no matter how alone we might feel at times.
Thank you also for so many of you who have sent us cards, flowers, gifts, etc. Your generosity is truly overwhelming. Thank you also to everyone who helped out while we were in the hospital. As you know, we were completely unprepared for our week long stay. I simply cannot express how much it all means to our family - we are truly blessed to have each and every one of you. Even the people that read this, that we don't know, we are thankful for your continued support as well.
Fight On! Little Fighters!! - Love Momma
Welcome to Our Blog! Our Story Starts Below...
Welcome to our blog! We set this up as an information hub about the progress of our little twin boys who were born on January 5, 2010. We along with our little boys first thank you so much for your love and support, and hope that this blog will give you an opportunity to follow their progress as they grow in the NICU at St. Jude Hospital in Fullerton.
Our little boys had a harrowing journey to get here. They were born at 25 weeks and 6 days, which is needless to say, very early. Jared William, was born at 10:49 a.m. feet first, and on the bathroom floor of the delivery room. Anthony Michael was born at 11:30 via C-section after he decided that he wanted to come out hands first.
Our story started on Monday, January 4 after a doctor's appointment with Dr. Gray. Danielle had been feeling generally, "crappy" the day before and reported what sounded like some contractions. The doctor decided to send us across the street to the hospital just to make sure everything was okay. After a couple of hours in labor and delivery the staff confirmed a few contractions, but very far apart. Her cervix was not dilated and the babies were fine.
The doctor sent us home and told us to keep track of the contractions, and so long as they weren't less than 7 minutes apart there was no need for concern. The next morning Danielle started feeling contractions again, but this time they were about five minutes apart. She called the doctor who said to wait another hour and see if they went away.
I was just getting ready to walk out the door to work when Danielle had a contraction that just about doubled her over. Deciding something wasn't right, I called the doctor and said we were coming to the hospital.
On our way to the hospital Danielle was having severe pains in her lower back every three minutes. When we arrived at the hospital Danielle was hooked up to the machines which registered no contractions at all. The doctors and nurses did not think her pains were contractions but constipation. After several attempts to alleviate that Danielle went into the bathroom still having severe lower back pain.
After a minute, I heard a scream, and Danielle was screaming that her babies were coming out. The nurses came rushing, as did the doctor, but Jared was too impatient to wait. He was born on the bathroom floor. After Danielle was moved to the bed, Anthony wasn't so cooperative and an emergency C-section was performed.
The NICU unit was quick to respond and help the teenie little babies breathe and fight for life. Jared was 2lbs. 1oz. and was 13 and 1/2 inches long. Anthony was 1lb. 15oz. and was 13 inches long.
The whole thing was totally unexpected, and frankly more traumatic than happy. But we are blessed with two gorgeous little miracle babies!
Our boys came home to us on March 26, 2010, after spending 81 days or about 12 weeks in the NICU at St. Jude Medical Center in Fullerton. As you may note from our previous posts below, the journey was not without its bumps in the road.
There were highs, and there were lows. We and the boys braved two laser eye surgeries, and countless other obstacles and scares. But, we never lost confidence in the medical team in the NICU, and always kept our faith that God would lead us through this time.
Our steadfastness paid off, because now the boys are happy and healthy at home! This of course brings with it a totally new set of challenges that we are exicted and eager to experience. The task of caring for twin newborns is a daunting one, but a welcome one.
So, just because the boys are now home, don't think the blogging will stop. It may not be as consistent as before, but we will do our best to keep you all updated on their progress, and give you a window into our lives raising twin boys.
Enjoy!
Our little boys had a harrowing journey to get here. They were born at 25 weeks and 6 days, which is needless to say, very early. Jared William, was born at 10:49 a.m. feet first, and on the bathroom floor of the delivery room. Anthony Michael was born at 11:30 via C-section after he decided that he wanted to come out hands first.
Our story started on Monday, January 4 after a doctor's appointment with Dr. Gray. Danielle had been feeling generally, "crappy" the day before and reported what sounded like some contractions. The doctor decided to send us across the street to the hospital just to make sure everything was okay. After a couple of hours in labor and delivery the staff confirmed a few contractions, but very far apart. Her cervix was not dilated and the babies were fine.
The doctor sent us home and told us to keep track of the contractions, and so long as they weren't less than 7 minutes apart there was no need for concern. The next morning Danielle started feeling contractions again, but this time they were about five minutes apart. She called the doctor who said to wait another hour and see if they went away.
I was just getting ready to walk out the door to work when Danielle had a contraction that just about doubled her over. Deciding something wasn't right, I called the doctor and said we were coming to the hospital.
On our way to the hospital Danielle was having severe pains in her lower back every three minutes. When we arrived at the hospital Danielle was hooked up to the machines which registered no contractions at all. The doctors and nurses did not think her pains were contractions but constipation. After several attempts to alleviate that Danielle went into the bathroom still having severe lower back pain.
After a minute, I heard a scream, and Danielle was screaming that her babies were coming out. The nurses came rushing, as did the doctor, but Jared was too impatient to wait. He was born on the bathroom floor. After Danielle was moved to the bed, Anthony wasn't so cooperative and an emergency C-section was performed.
The NICU unit was quick to respond and help the teenie little babies breathe and fight for life. Jared was 2lbs. 1oz. and was 13 and 1/2 inches long. Anthony was 1lb. 15oz. and was 13 inches long.
The whole thing was totally unexpected, and frankly more traumatic than happy. But we are blessed with two gorgeous little miracle babies!
Our boys came home to us on March 26, 2010, after spending 81 days or about 12 weeks in the NICU at St. Jude Medical Center in Fullerton. As you may note from our previous posts below, the journey was not without its bumps in the road.
There were highs, and there were lows. We and the boys braved two laser eye surgeries, and countless other obstacles and scares. But, we never lost confidence in the medical team in the NICU, and always kept our faith that God would lead us through this time.
Our steadfastness paid off, because now the boys are happy and healthy at home! This of course brings with it a totally new set of challenges that we are exicted and eager to experience. The task of caring for twin newborns is a daunting one, but a welcome one.
So, just because the boys are now home, don't think the blogging will stop. It may not be as consistent as before, but we will do our best to keep you all updated on their progress, and give you a window into our lives raising twin boys.
Enjoy!
It gives me goose bumps to read these blogs when everything is going so well for "our" boys! I am in continued amazement of the talent, knowledge and patience the medical staff has shown in caring for all of the ups and downs that have happened. They are truly amazing !!! And again I have to say how proud I am of the strength that both Danielle and Jason continue to show in this challenging situation. I love you both and keep up the good Fight! "GG" Cora
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