Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Plans for the Week
Get ready for Thursday or Friday.....Are you kidding me???? By this weekend my whole family could finally be at home together???? What great news! Both girls had surprisingly similar days today - in fact my report from home was about the same for Cameron at the NICU. Cameron is taking her carseat challenge test tonight and if she passes I guess we will find out soon which day is for sure. Tomorrow I take Reagan to Duke for her eye checkup. I pray that she will be retinopathy free. That's all for today!
Reflux
As it turns out, we now have two babies that have been diagnosed with reflux and interestingly enough their pH's are exactly the same. They have started Cameron on zantac but she, too, had a gastric pH starting out of a 1 - (with a 4 or above being normal). Today I went up to the hospital to visit with Cameron and she was scheduled to meet with the OT today and if all went well...they were going to probably dismiss her from therapy! Talk about progress! They did a lot of bloodwork on Cameron today. Also today I saw more similarities between Cameron and Reagan in their disposition but to be honest I think it was due to the reflux more than anything.
Reagan had her first visit with the pediatrician today and it went well. According to the scale she has gained 5 ounces since she came home! Today her poor belly has been rumbling and grumbling and as to be expected she hasn't been as crazy about eating today because of it. Reagan got her first bath at home tonight and now she smells like a bed of roses (I love baby smell even if it doesn't last very long!).
So, the girls weights are as follows - Reagan 4 lbs. 6.5 oz. and Cameron 3 lbs. 13 oz. Either tomorrow or Wednesday I am going to take Cameron's carseat up to the hospital for her to take her carseat test. Reagan gets her eyes checked on Wednesday.
One other cool twin thing - just called the NICU and both girls have been laying awake now for a while - Reagan here at home and Cam in the TCN - isn't it cool how they sometimes will still do things just alike?
Reagan had her first visit with the pediatrician today and it went well. According to the scale she has gained 5 ounces since she came home! Today her poor belly has been rumbling and grumbling and as to be expected she hasn't been as crazy about eating today because of it. Reagan got her first bath at home tonight and now she smells like a bed of roses (I love baby smell even if it doesn't last very long!).
So, the girls weights are as follows - Reagan 4 lbs. 6.5 oz. and Cameron 3 lbs. 13 oz. Either tomorrow or Wednesday I am going to take Cameron's carseat up to the hospital for her to take her carseat test. Reagan gets her eyes checked on Wednesday.
One other cool twin thing - just called the NICU and both girls have been laying awake now for a while - Reagan here at home and Cam in the TCN - isn't it cool how they sometimes will still do things just alike?
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Adjustments
We have officially been home with Reagan for 24 hours and I would say that we are all adjusting pretty well. Aubrey seems to like her little sister, but all the same I think we are dealing with some normal adjustment issues that anyone deals with when they welcome a new addition. When Reagan is awake, she runs into the room and yells - "Hey Reagan!" or "Hey Baby" and then says "Hold?" So, today I let her "help" mommy hold Reagan and she was so proud of herself. However, she has also been on super warp speed running around the house, tearing into things, and had some trouble with listening a bit - adjustment or just normal 20 month going on 2 behavior? Who knows but even still I look at her and tears come to my eyes sometimes when I realize how blessed we are to have not just one amazing daughter but three. Once things settle down a bit and we get into more of a routine I think she will be fine.
Reagan seems to be adjusting to life away from the NICU well, too. She (in my opinion) has not been crying nearly as much. This could also be due to the fact that they changed her reflux medication. She is sleeping well in between feedings - although sometimes she likes to sleep on Mommy or Daddy's chest instead of her bed - but for now I don't apologize one bit for it because for quite some time we didn't know if we would ever have the chance and I am going to savor every moment of it (even if we are spoiling her a bit). Seth and I have talked all day about how different life is without the monitors and wires. How much more peaceful life is without constantly glancing up to check to be sure that her heart rate, blood pressure, temperature, respiratory rate, and oxygenation are doing! I think that she definitely enjoys being away from the wires, too! Another awesome thing that has helped with our adjustments have been some of the amazing folks that we have had bring us dinner - THANK YOU!!! What a relief to not have to worry about cooking. Your generosity and thoughtfulness have definitely been well appreciated!
Tomorrow will be a busy day. Today while we adjusted to having Reagan home and Aubrey came home from Mimi and Papa's I stayed away from the NICU. My parents went to see Cameron and said that she is doing great!!! She ate 50 ccs with Papa today and they are working hard to fatten her up! The nurses at the NICU all love her and fight over who will get to be with her! Last night she gained about a half an ounce. They have now officially removed her NG tube and her temperature probe. Tomorrow I will drop Aubrey off at daycare and then head to the hospital for some special Cam and Mommy time. Then, I will rush home and later in the afternoon we will head to Reagan's first pediatric appointment.
This week is a big week for the girls as we have appointments and tests being run this week. I pray that all will continue to go well for them and that we will be finding out a specific day that we are to bring Cameron home!
Reagan seems to be adjusting to life away from the NICU well, too. She (in my opinion) has not been crying nearly as much. This could also be due to the fact that they changed her reflux medication. She is sleeping well in between feedings - although sometimes she likes to sleep on Mommy or Daddy's chest instead of her bed - but for now I don't apologize one bit for it because for quite some time we didn't know if we would ever have the chance and I am going to savor every moment of it (even if we are spoiling her a bit). Seth and I have talked all day about how different life is without the monitors and wires. How much more peaceful life is without constantly glancing up to check to be sure that her heart rate, blood pressure, temperature, respiratory rate, and oxygenation are doing! I think that she definitely enjoys being away from the wires, too! Another awesome thing that has helped with our adjustments have been some of the amazing folks that we have had bring us dinner - THANK YOU!!! What a relief to not have to worry about cooking. Your generosity and thoughtfulness have definitely been well appreciated!
Tomorrow will be a busy day. Today while we adjusted to having Reagan home and Aubrey came home from Mimi and Papa's I stayed away from the NICU. My parents went to see Cameron and said that she is doing great!!! She ate 50 ccs with Papa today and they are working hard to fatten her up! The nurses at the NICU all love her and fight over who will get to be with her! Last night she gained about a half an ounce. They have now officially removed her NG tube and her temperature probe. Tomorrow I will drop Aubrey off at daycare and then head to the hospital for some special Cam and Mommy time. Then, I will rush home and later in the afternoon we will head to Reagan's first pediatric appointment.
This week is a big week for the girls as we have appointments and tests being run this week. I pray that all will continue to go well for them and that we will be finding out a specific day that we are to bring Cameron home!
Saturday, March 28, 2009
We're Home
As we speak, Reagan is in bed grunting away because she has lost her pacifier, Seth is watching the NCAA tournament and I am eating some yummy food that some friends dropped by for us! Here are some pictures of our day and our journey.
A Few Photos from Rooming In
See all the clothes and rags around Reagan right there...well those are there because we placed them there to store because reflux is very messy business! She had already gone through 3 blankets and outfits that day with spitting up and tinkling all over the place!
Friday, March 27, 2009
Not Home Just Yet
Well, as you can tell by the title...Reagan is not home yet. Last night was a wonderful and yet bittersweet time. I found myself being very excited about the possibility of Reagan coming home and yet so unbelievably sad to be leaving Cameron. I am so thankful that she will not remember this. I told Seth that for some reason leaving one at the hospital is way harder than leaving them both because at least when they were both there they were together like twins should be. I often wonder if they even know that they are twins anymore because although they were together in the womb, they have now been apart for 86 days. Can you believe that they are 86 days old?
Anyway, last night Reagan continued to spit up and to be very uncomfortable during periods of the night. Aubrey hardly ever spit up so having a baby with reflux is a HUGE change! We did not get very much sleep and neither did Reagan. They did another gastric pH test this morning and found that they needed to put her on a stronger medicine so they have changed her meds. In doing so, they offered to have her stay tonight to watch her and for all of us to get some rest (I think the doctors took pity on us when she saw how exhausted we were!). So, tomorrow after Seth finishes with his basketball tournament, we will go to get Reagan from the hospital. And we were told today to expect Cameron within a week or so!
On the prayer request side - please pray for our family's transition to having the girls home, pray for Reagan's reflux - that it would be subsided by the medicine so that she can be comfortable (it is so hard to see her in so much constant pain...she hardly ever lays still and is constantly grunting and moving and curling up into a ball), please pray for Reagan's eyes - that they would continue to heal. Please also pray for Cameron - she is having a bunch of tests run this week...she failed a portion of her newborn screen and they are redoing it on Monday, that her hernia would either resolve itself or stay the same size, and she has also had a few bradys this week. They will not let her go home until she is brady free for a certain amount of time.
Anyway, last night Reagan continued to spit up and to be very uncomfortable during periods of the night. Aubrey hardly ever spit up so having a baby with reflux is a HUGE change! We did not get very much sleep and neither did Reagan. They did another gastric pH test this morning and found that they needed to put her on a stronger medicine so they have changed her meds. In doing so, they offered to have her stay tonight to watch her and for all of us to get some rest (I think the doctors took pity on us when she saw how exhausted we were!). So, tomorrow after Seth finishes with his basketball tournament, we will go to get Reagan from the hospital. And we were told today to expect Cameron within a week or so!
On the prayer request side - please pray for our family's transition to having the girls home, pray for Reagan's reflux - that it would be subsided by the medicine so that she can be comfortable (it is so hard to see her in so much constant pain...she hardly ever lays still and is constantly grunting and moving and curling up into a ball), please pray for Reagan's eyes - that they would continue to heal. Please also pray for Cameron - she is having a bunch of tests run this week...she failed a portion of her newborn screen and they are redoing it on Monday, that her hernia would either resolve itself or stay the same size, and she has also had a few bradys this week. They will not let her go home until she is brady free for a certain amount of time.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Bumps in the Road
Short version of today:
-The last couple of days Reagan has had some trouble with spitting up pretty bad and being extremely cranky at times - this may be due to her reflux. But we are a little concerned and are hoping to talk to the doctors about it.
-Reagan passed her carseat test.
-Reagan had her kidney ultrasound and tests today. We will speak with the doctors tomorrow but I do know that something did show up on the ultrasound but the nurse said that it does not need treatment (I guess we will find out more tomorrow).
-Cameron has had her food switched to being supplemented with formula and seems to be tolerating it well. The nurses want to try to have her switched to additional feedings taken by bottle - instead of every other feed.
-Cameron is now 3 lbs. 10 oz! Way to go Cam!
-The surgeon came to look at Cameron's hernia today and the nurse said that he also will speak to us soon but basically they want for Cameron to come back a month after she is discharged to have the surgery to correct the hernia.
-Seth and I are set to room in tomorrow and to get trained in CPR tomorrow.
-The last couple of days Reagan has had some trouble with spitting up pretty bad and being extremely cranky at times - this may be due to her reflux. But we are a little concerned and are hoping to talk to the doctors about it.
-Reagan passed her carseat test.
-Reagan had her kidney ultrasound and tests today. We will speak with the doctors tomorrow but I do know that something did show up on the ultrasound but the nurse said that it does not need treatment (I guess we will find out more tomorrow).
-Cameron has had her food switched to being supplemented with formula and seems to be tolerating it well. The nurses want to try to have her switched to additional feedings taken by bottle - instead of every other feed.
-Cameron is now 3 lbs. 10 oz! Way to go Cam!
-The surgeon came to look at Cameron's hernia today and the nurse said that he also will speak to us soon but basically they want for Cameron to come back a month after she is discharged to have the surgery to correct the hernia.
-Seth and I are set to room in tomorrow and to get trained in CPR tomorrow.
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