Everyone told me how amazing being a Mommy was, but I never could have imagined the amount of love I have to give to these little peanuts. Don't tell them I said this when they're older, but I would do anything for them!
So much has happened in the last week! The girls are doing awesome, but both are still having some ups and downs as would be expected for such early preemies.
We will start with Evelyn. She is doing an awesome job with her breathing and was finally taken off CPAP yesterday. She was placed on a nasal cannula, which was actually taken off this morning just before I got there! I was soo excited! She did so great all day without the oxygen! Her problem is that when she gets mad, she is difficult to calm down, and her breathing suffers. She had a little meltdown this afternoon, and even though her oxygen levels stayed okay, we could tell she was really working hard to breathe. The nurse ended up putting her back on a little oxygen, and once she finally calmed down, her breathing seemed much easier.
Evelyn weighed 3 lb., 1 oz. as of yesterday, which is a loss of 3 oz. from her birth weight. This is pretty normal for any baby. Her feedings were increased today from 2 milliliters of breast milk every 3 hours to 4 milliliters every 3 hours. Every few days, they will ramp up the feedings as long as the girls tolerate them. Along with increasing the feedings into their tummies, the doctors decrease the girls' TPN (IV nutrition) so that eventually all of their nutrition will come from breast milk.. So far, there have been no issues with feedings, aside from the first night or two where Evie had some leftovers in her tummy that made her uncomfortable. Preemies are at a super high risk for reflux, so as we increase their feedings, we'll have to keep a close eye on that. I asked the nurse tonight what they normally do to treat reflux, and she said the babies just have to grow out of it. Poor things! We are praying that reflux won't be too big of an issue for either of the girls.
Sophie, our littlest peanut, is doing an awesome job too! While she still has the CPAP on, her breathing has pretty much stayed the same for the past few days. The oxygen level that is coming through the CPAP is equivalent to the oxygen level in the air, or occasionally just a touch more. She just needs the CPAP to help keep her lungs expanded. She is tinier, so it might take her a little longer to catch up to Evelyn. Sophie's breathing is great while she's on her tummy, but she usually needs a little oxygen boost when she lays on her back. We are told this is normal for preemies, and yet again, something she will grow out of. She will need to learn to breathe well on her back before going home, since that is the recommended positioning for sleep when babies are not on continuous monitoring. Sophie is a little easier to calm down than Evie when she gets mad, so her breathing usually doesn't suffer too much if she is upset about something. Occasionally, Sophie will do what is called "periodic breathing," where she breathes really fast for a little while and then stops breathing (apnea) for a while. Sometimes these are accompanied by "brady" alarms, which is when their heart rate drops temporarily because of low oxygen. Another common thing for preemies. The good thing is that Sophie normally comes out of these episodes all by herself and doesn't need us to remind her to start breathing again.
Sophie has gained 1 oz. from her birth weight! Her feedings were also increased today, from 2 mL every 3 hours to 3 mL every 3 hours (the amount they get per feeding is based on their weight, which is why she gets a little less than Evelyn.) She has had no tummy issues, but just like Evie, she will have to be watched closely for reflux as her feedings are increased.
As far as temperature goes, most preemies born as early as Sophie and Evie have trouble maintaining their body temperature. The isolettes that Sophie and Evie are in maintain a specific temperature and humidity level to help them regulate their temps. Every few days, the humidity is weaned down, and by the time the weaning is complete (about 2ish more weeks), the girls should be old enough to be able to keep themselves warm. At that point, the tops can come off of the isolettes and we can start dressing the girls in clothes, swaddling them in blankets, etc. I can't wait!
Both girls have had some ups and downs with high bilirubin levels (jaundice) -- another very common thing for preemies. They have both been on and off phototherapy, which are the blue lights that help with jaundice (don't ask me how.) Evelyn was off for a day or two and then was put back on today. It's tough for mommy and daddy to see them laying underneath that light with little sunglasses on. Hopefully, when they recheck her bili levels in the morning, they will be lower so that the lights can be turned off.
Nate and I have started doing a lot of the girls' care, like baths, diaper changes, etc. It's so fun to be able to take care of our little munchkins! We also love doing kangaroo care with the babies, where we hold them skin-to-skin on our chest for an hour or two at a time. The babies seem to enjoy it too, and there is a lot of research to say that kangaroo care does a lot of good things, like helping babies regulate their breathing and temperature, increasing mom's milk supply, and helping with bonding, which can be an issue when babies are stuck in isolettes all the time.
We cannot say enough wonderful things about the doctors, NPs, and nurses at the NICU here at Mott. They are taking such great care of our girls, and of us too!
Prayer Requests:
- That Sophie and Evie's breathing will continue to improve; that Evie will calm down more easily and that Sophie will learn to breathe just as well on her back as on her tummy.
- That Sophie and Evie will continue to tolerate their feedings and not develop severe reflux so they can grow and the TPN can be turned off!
- That the girls will stay free of infection. The hospital is a great place to pick up a bug, especially with weak immune systems, central lines, and that nasty TPN, which is a wonderful breeding grounds for bacteria. Any infection could set the girls back quite a bit, especially if it's severe.
- That the girls' bilirubin levels will stabilize and they will no longer need to be on the bili lights.
- That Nate and I will get the rest we need. The NICU is quite a stressful place, and it's hard to leave our girls each night, but we have to remember the importance of taking care of ourselves too so that we can be the best Mommy and Daddy we can be!
Speaking of rest, I need to get some. I promise I WILL post pictures soon. If you are friends with Nate or me on Facebook, Nate does have a photo album with lots of adorable pictures of the twins! Thank you for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers, for all the cards, gifts, and visits. We appreciate it so much!
Goodnight!
The Vander Ploegs
Still praying! Look forward to seeing pictures....
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