Well, our little munchkins are getting bigger and stronger each day! Weigh-in time has become a very fun event each night. Here are the latest updates:
1. Susannah's head ultrasound results are back, and they showed no change to her hemorrhage. We are so grateful! Keep up the prayers that things stay this way or even decrease - we really appreciate it.
2. Thursday, the doctor actually ordered two bottles a day for Will. It is really early for this skill, but after only two days, he is taking the whole bottle! His other six feedings are still via feeding tube, but we expect that the doctor will order another bottle added in the next day or two.
3. Susannah is now getting her feedings over an hour, down from 90 minutes. She spit up a little bit the first couple of feedings, but seems to be tolerating this rate nicely now. She is also enjoying her binky, so there is talk that she'll start a bottle soon as well.
Also, I need to make a correction to an earlier post. I mentioned that Charlie was getting spoiled by his grandparents. They have asked that I correct this - he's not getting spoiled, he's getting "loved a lot."
Many, many thanks to the folks who have fed us and done us MANY favors over the past two weeks - we cannot explain the load that has been lifted off our shoulders because of all of you.
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Two Weeks
Two weeks ago today, I'd been up for not quite two hours, with abdominal pain that started rather small and had now increased to the point where I noticed it coming and going, not to mention that I'd be doubled over each time a new pain hit. Um, hello? Contractions??? I was planning to get a haircut! But enough about me...
Yesterday's progress:
1. Susannah is now being fed in 90 minute intervals. Still with a feeding tube, but now she is fed the same amount over 90 minutes and then rests for 90 minutes instead of a continuous flow. They are working her up to a 30 minute feeding every three hours. Here's a picture her daddy took last night:
2. Will is sacked out after about 12 cc's of milk from his bottle, but that's really good given his gestational age. Here's a picture of how he looks after his bottle adventures:
And here's another pic Daddy took:
Thank you for all the love and prayers!!!
Yesterday's progress:
1. Susannah is now being fed in 90 minute intervals. Still with a feeding tube, but now she is fed the same amount over 90 minutes and then rests for 90 minutes instead of a continuous flow. They are working her up to a 30 minute feeding every three hours. Here's a picture her daddy took last night:
2. Will is sacked out after about 12 cc's of milk from his bottle, but that's really good given his gestational age. Here's a picture of how he looks after his bottle adventures:
And here's another pic Daddy took:
Thank you for all the love and prayers!!!
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Growing
We've likely reached a stage of stability and waiting. In the coming days and weeks, we'll just need our babies to get bigger and stronger and a little older. Keep wishing and praying for continued stability.
More good news - both babies are now above their birth weights! Susannah is at 3 lbs, 6 oz, and Will is at 4 lbs, 5 oz (if I remember right). This is a big milestone. For babies with shorter NICU stays, this is often one of the big things they wait on in order to go home. Hopefully their weights will continue this upward swing.
Speaking of weight, we have more progress in the feeding area. Susannah is still on her continuous feeds, but Will has been given "permission" to start learning a bottle! They just turned 33 weeks yesterday, so this is very early, but we are encouraged by his strength. So far, he's taken about 12 cc's from a bottle a couple of times a day. The rest is still fed with his feeding tube to keep him from getting too tired. Eating is such hard work!
Head ultrasounds are scheduled for Thursday, so continue to pray for no change or a decrease on Susannah's bleed, and a clear result for Will.
Big brother Charlie is really enjoying the extra time (and spoiling) with all his grandparents over the last two weeks. He has also developed a recent LOVE of all things Elmo, and it is fun to watch him hug and kiss his Elmo doll.
Mom and Dad are managing...I'm up as frequently as if they were home to "manage" the milk. Kevin is working while they're in the hospital. Still no word on when they might come home, but we know from experience that the doctors are usually pretty vague about this anyway. We don't expect them for another couple of weeks, and there is the possibility that they could come home at different times. What would Charlie think of that?! :)
More good news - both babies are now above their birth weights! Susannah is at 3 lbs, 6 oz, and Will is at 4 lbs, 5 oz (if I remember right). This is a big milestone. For babies with shorter NICU stays, this is often one of the big things they wait on in order to go home. Hopefully their weights will continue this upward swing.
Speaking of weight, we have more progress in the feeding area. Susannah is still on her continuous feeds, but Will has been given "permission" to start learning a bottle! They just turned 33 weeks yesterday, so this is very early, but we are encouraged by his strength. So far, he's taken about 12 cc's from a bottle a couple of times a day. The rest is still fed with his feeding tube to keep him from getting too tired. Eating is such hard work!
Head ultrasounds are scheduled for Thursday, so continue to pray for no change or a decrease on Susannah's bleed, and a clear result for Will.
Big brother Charlie is really enjoying the extra time (and spoiling) with all his grandparents over the last two weeks. He has also developed a recent LOVE of all things Elmo, and it is fun to watch him hug and kiss his Elmo doll.
Mom and Dad are managing...I'm up as frequently as if they were home to "manage" the milk. Kevin is working while they're in the hospital. Still no word on when they might come home, but we know from experience that the doctors are usually pretty vague about this anyway. We don't expect them for another couple of weeks, and there is the possibility that they could come home at different times. What would Charlie think of that?! :)
Monday, July 25, 2011
Small Victories
Since last week, we've had several small victories!
First, and perhaps most exciting, was the moment I got to hold both babies at once:
Let me see if I can remember all the milestones we hit in the last few days:
1. Susannah has also come off her IV's and is getting all her nutrition from breastmilk!
2. Will is taking more than an ounce at each feeding, every 3 hours.
3. Susannah is still on continuous feeding, but she's up to a rate of 9 cc's an hour, which is the equivalent of 27 cc's every three hours.
4. They detected a grade 1 or 2 hemorrhage in Susannah's brain last week. Grade 1 or 2 is usually not cause for concern. However, she will get weekly head ultrasounds to be sure the bleeding has not gotten any worse. Please say extra prayers about this. Thankfully, William's head ultrasound was clear.
5. Both babies are putting on weight. This is big because right now we are really just waiting for them to grow and get stronger.
They are telling us that the babies will progress to bottle feeding at around 34 or 35 weeks gestation, which is another week or two. They have to master that and be able regulate their body temperatures before they can go home, so it will be a while yet.
Lots of folks are asking how Charlie feels about all this. Unfortunately, he hasn't seen the babies yet as he isn't old enough to enter the nursery. All he knows right now is that Mom can't pick him up, which has been frustrating for him. We keep reading books about being a big brother, and he seems to be embracing the idea.
Keep the prayers and positive thoughts coming! We appreciate them all!
First, and perhaps most exciting, was the moment I got to hold both babies at once:
Let me see if I can remember all the milestones we hit in the last few days:
1. Susannah has also come off her IV's and is getting all her nutrition from breastmilk!
2. Will is taking more than an ounce at each feeding, every 3 hours.
3. Susannah is still on continuous feeding, but she's up to a rate of 9 cc's an hour, which is the equivalent of 27 cc's every three hours.
4. They detected a grade 1 or 2 hemorrhage in Susannah's brain last week. Grade 1 or 2 is usually not cause for concern. However, she will get weekly head ultrasounds to be sure the bleeding has not gotten any worse. Please say extra prayers about this. Thankfully, William's head ultrasound was clear.
5. Both babies are putting on weight. This is big because right now we are really just waiting for them to grow and get stronger.
They are telling us that the babies will progress to bottle feeding at around 34 or 35 weeks gestation, which is another week or two. They have to master that and be able regulate their body temperatures before they can go home, so it will be a while yet.
Lots of folks are asking how Charlie feels about all this. Unfortunately, he hasn't seen the babies yet as he isn't old enough to enter the nursery. All he knows right now is that Mom can't pick him up, which has been frustrating for him. We keep reading books about being a big brother, and he seems to be embracing the idea.
Keep the prayers and positive thoughts coming! We appreciate them all!
Progress!
Susannah Rose Crump
William Lawrence Crump
Lots happened between Wednesday and yesterday. We received the following reports:
1. "Big Will" is scheduled to come off his IV fluids and lipids soon, likely today. He's getting ONE WHOLE ounce of breastmilk at each feeding, up from 19 cc's only a couple of days ago (there are 30 cc's in an ounce). Apparently, those 8 ounces daily are enough to sustain him without the extras from the pharmacy (but thanks anyway, Jacob Daughtry!). I'm anxious to see how his weight changes in the coming days.
2. Susannah is much happier without the CPAP machine, and yesterday she even got to abandon the cannula, so she's breathing room air! Wednesday the doctor and nurses detected a fairly loud heart murmur, but they reduced her fluids and yesterday it sounded much, much better. Keep praying about this - her EKG was normal, so that's good. As far as food, she's still on continuous feeds, meaning she eats all the time instead of in intervals. However, they increased the rate of her breastmilk consumption from 1.5 cc's per hour to 2.5 cc's. That's getting close to an extra ounce per day, so I'm hoping her weight responds as well.
All in all, VERY good reports yesterday, and I even got to hold Susannah for about 30 minutes. William has been in the arms of one of his parents for at least a couple hours over the last two days. Hooray!
Charlie is a big brother!!!
OK, so I thought I'd use this as a medium for updating folks about the newest Crump family members...let me know how it works!
William and Susannah are a week old today. What a week it has been! Here's a summary:
William Lawrence was born at 11:46 AM July 14, 4lbs, 3 oz, 18 in long. Susannah Rose was born at 11:49 AM, 3 lbs, 5 oz, 16 in long. Both are currently in NICU at Memorial Hospital. William has been (surprisingly) the stronger of the two from the beginning. Right now, he is breathing room air without assistance, has been pulled off the lights for jaundice, and is getting regular feedings via a feeding tube. Susannah needed a little help breathing just to keep her from wearing herself out. She was on a CPAP machine for several days, but that was removed yesterday and now she only needs the assistance of a cannula (one of those tubes that has a prong up each nostril). She was under the lights for bruising that happened during delivery, and that has healed nicely, but now she's under for a little bit of jaundice as well. Both babies have dropped the usual few ounces since birth, but now their weights are leveling off and even starting to increase just a bit.
I've been able to hold Will for an hour or so at a time since he was a couple of days old. I finally got to hold Susannah last night for a couple of minutes while they cleaned her bed. I can't believe it has been a week already.
More soon, including photos!
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