Crazy hair and Sleepy girl

Squeaky clean with wild hair after my bath. (Josie)

Brynlee in my arms and Josie on my lap.  Odd angle as taking photo myself.

(Post may look goofy since from my phone)

The best week!

The day after Christmas, I was able to kangaroo with both girls at the same time for the first time.  It was quite the handful, but wonderful.  Grammy and Grampy Beekman came for a visit with Uncle Nate on their way home.  Thank goodness the girls are so sweet or I would even be more jealous of Nate's frequent trips to Breckenridge, etc to go skiing!

I kangaroo held both girls at the same time the next day as well.  On the 28th, I only kangaroo held Brynlee.  She just seemed like she wanted her mama to herself.  The day before she was restless while I wad holding both of them and didn't get her vapotherm pressure turned down like her sister that day. Maybe mom just wanted to feel like Brynlee needed her alone bonding time more than she really did!! Ty held Josie all swaddled when he got there.  He even got the luck of changing a stinky diaper. :)  I told him she might need changed since the nurse was busy.  He stuck his nose right in the arm hole and got blown away by stink!  Poor Josie doesn't have a chance of hiding the stink with her iron supplement. 

Yesterday, I kangarooed Josie while Ty held Brynlee swaddled.  Uncle Josh and Aunt Katie came for a visit.  The girls were dressed in their matching Pjs that they received from the Folkmanns for Christmas.   Even the doctor commented how cute they were in them!

Today (great) Grandma Beekman came for a visit.  She had great timing as she was able to watch me learn and give baths to both girls.  Simple things like baths are so amazing for the first time.  I was able to reposition the girls to their backs from tummys, undress them, get their butts wiped down, carry them and place them in the tub and wash them.  After washing them, I was able to pick them up and dry them while holding them against me.  Both girls were wide awake and just stared at me as I dried them off and cuddled before putting them back.  After putting them back, I wiped them down with Aquaphor, put their diapers and sleepers on.  It may seem like nothing, but that is a lot of work and control compared to the normal occasional diaper changes and having them always placed in our arms to hold.  Just seeing them in my arms, held like a normal baby and being able to stare at each other with no cords (other than oxygen and feeding tube) or plexiglass in the way, was great.

After both girls were bathed, they both were swaddled and I got to hold them at the same time.  Josie fought going to sleep and wanted her new bigger pacifier held in the majority of the time and Brynlee was lights out with a few occasional coos and squirms.  I think I listen to their coos all day!

Things that made this week great:
- Girls' first Christmas
- Mom was able to hold them both at same time kangarooed and swaddled
- Saw a lot of family - met new ones too!
- Josie is now 4 lb 1.5 oz!!
- Josie is on 2 liters vapotherm and more food! (May be going to 1.5 liters soon!)
- Brynlee is 1.1 oz away from 4 lbs.  3 lb and 14.9 oz currently
- Brynlee is now at 2 liters vapotherm and doing great on food
- Both girls now wear sleepers and regulating temperatures well (isolettes are now set to air temp instead of body temp)

Things looking forward to:
- Hopefully in next week or two can try nuzzling and possibly nursing.
- More cuddle time - alone and with both girls together
- Condensing feeding down to 45 min for Brynlee and 30 min for Josie
- Reduced vapotherm setting for Josie; and Brynlee once she gets her current rate practiced
- Josie's ROP to not get worse.  (Found out she wasn't quite clear on her eye exam, like I thought. For now just monitoring weekly.)
- New year and getting closer to coming home
- Grandpa and Grandma Walker feeling better from the flu and coming for a visit!

Not looking forward to:
- Work!!  I go back in 2 short days

Merry Christmas!

We had a great Christmas!  Friday night was Christmas at Grandma and Grandpa Walker's.  Everyone was there except Michael, who was on a business trip.  Sunday was Christmas at Ty's parents.  And today we had Christmas with my dad's side of the family.  We visited the girls each of these days with a little bit of cuddle time most days.

Friday we put them in preemie Christmas sleepers and got them out to take their pictures together and with us.  Brynlee cried the whole time and sneezed in Josie's face.  Finally Josie opened her eyes slightly to see who it was in her face.  After we got done with pictures, we held them for a couple hours in their sleepers for the first time.  We have only done kangaroo holding before, so it was nice to actually cradle hold them.

Brynlee and Josie

Saturday afternoon they switched them over to vapotherm from CPAP so I was unable to hold either of them due to the large change.  They didn't do that well that night, so they increased the pressure and concentration slightly and they did much better.  Sunday we got there bright and early, so I could hold Brynlee (it was her turn) before we headed to Boone for lunch.  The girls has their pictures taken this night by a former NICU parent (CNicholl photography) who volunteered for The Preemie Project.  (The Preemie Project donates hats, booties, blankets to the NICUs in Iowa).

Yesterday, we got there around noon or 1 pm.  Supposedly they had been ringing off every 10 or 20 minutes up until we got there and then were fine once we arrived.  It's hard to say if its a coincidence or not.  We kangarooed both girls for 2-3 hours and talked with my dad and Marje, as they just got into town.   The CD with their pictures was waiting on the couch when we arrived, but we didn't have our computer.  Along with the CD were a few other gifts from previous NICU families.   Brynlee had a girl gingerbread hat and Josie had a Christmas tree hat in their beds that they used to take their pictures.  The first thing I did when we got home was look at the photos.  They turned out great considering all the equipment, cords, etc you have to wrangle!

Josie and Brynlee

Josie

Brynlee

Today we arrived at the NICU a little later than we wanted due to Ty having to fix my car.  The couch in our room was filled with little goodies from previous NICU families.  It was so heart warming to walk into that surprise and read all of the little stories attached to the gifts.  I would love to continue on with this next year in some form.  I want to write on each tag what they received and put the stories in with their baby books for when they get older.  The girls were dressed in their sleepers when we got there.  After they had a quick diaper change, we got them out for a quick family photo (and a few kisses from mom!).  We then headed to Ames for Christmas at (Great) Grandma Beekmans.

Christmas day

Brynlee smiling

Josie wide awake

The girls were definitely spoiled this year.  I think its going to take me a while to find homes for all of their presents and toys they have received!  It's great to know that when they come home, they have such great family members waiting for them!

The girls are almost 2 pounds over their birth weight.  Josie is 3 lbs 9 oz and Brynlee is 3 lbs 8 oz.

Snow day

Santa came today, despite the snow.  Hopefully I'll get the picture they took next to the beds soon since I just missed him.  He even brought them some useful goodies for when we get home! 

Today I cuddled with Josie and Ty with Brynlee.  Brynlee was a little of a fusser.  She could have been getting hungry.  She didn't tolerate all her food coming in over 1 hour yesterday so they expanded it go 1.5 hours.  Poor girl burped and then threw up her food yesterday.  Luckily I heard her so I could clean her up until the nurse was back from another room.  Josie loves her food but is being a little slower on breathing. Brynlee is doing great on breathing and keeping her oxygen up.

Picture below is of Josie and me.  I love hearing her suck her pacifier and wiggle and coo against me.  Everyday they are more and more awake.

3 pounds

Both girls are now 3 pounds (as of yesterday).  They turned down their cpap yesterday to the lowest setting it can go, which is great.  Their next step for breathing is vapotherm.
Today their feedings increased and now are bolus feedings.  They get their food over the course of one hour and have a break of 2 hours after that.  Previously they had their food given over two hours with one hour break.
Santa is coming tomorrow with some goodies for the kids and pizza for the parents.
One of the primary nurses snagged them some Christmas sleepers so we can take pictures. 
Sounds like they may be close to graduating to clothes and having to work to maintain their body temperature.  That will be a fun day, but they are cute with just diapers too.
Their eye exam went well.  It was for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) rather than for vision.  It was pretty gruesome to watch as they pull back the skin around the eye and push their eye ball around to look at the development of blood vessels.  Josie was kicking and pretty mad, but both girls quickly forgot.

Six weeks

Six weeks old means only two more weeks home.  I don't even want to think how I will juggle everything with work included.  The days go way too fast as it is.
Josie is 3 lbs, 1 oz.
Brynlee is 2 lbs, 14 oz.
Great-grandma Katie and Great-aunt Kay came for their first visit.  The girls did some entertaining for them yesterday. 

Kicked Out

Today we were kicked out of the big twin room.  I guess that means we aren't as sick anymore.  That is a good thing but I definitely wasn't ready to move so quickly and without warning.   There were twins being born that needed the room more.

Josie managed to push her feeding tube out on the move.  And then later had her nasal prongs moved up and pushing into her eye.  No wonder her oxygen alarm kept ringing a little low.

Both girls are now on a feeding schedule of on for 2 hours and off 1 hour.  This gives them more food per hour during those 2 hours than they had previously. They will eventually wean them to normal spaced out feedings like a full term baby as they grow and tolerate the changes.

The picture is Josie getting ready to move after being kangarooed.

One month

The girls turned a month old on Tuesday, December 4th.

Josie was 2 lbs, 7.7 oz, 13.8 in.   Brynlee was 2 lbs, 3.9 oz, 13.4 in.
They started out at 1 lb 14.3 oz, 12.5 inches and 1 lb, 9.3 oz, 12.25 in.

I bought monkeys to take their picture with to document their size as they grow.  They make double chins look good!

Josie before

Josie now

Josie

Brynlee before

Brynlee now

Brynlee

Good Saturday

Snuggling with Brynlee for over 3 hours makes for a good Saturday night!

We are 2 lb 1.5 oz (Brynlee) and 2 lb 6.5 oz (Josie).  We are thinking a few explosive diapers caused the weight drop for Josie.  She was weighed 3 times at 2 different care times to make sure it was correct.