Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Update but no pics today

Not too much to report today as far as their health is concerned, which is a good thing. Both girls continue to have apnea episodes. I've done okay when they have episodes when we're there, but I find that as time passes I get more nervous. Odd to me - I would expect that, as time passes, I would get better. It's sort of like flying - it never bothered me but the more I flew the more nervous I became. I was holding Olivia today during kangaroo care and she went down twice - once really scared me and I was about to call the nurse for help when she started coming back up. The nurse said sometimes they get so comfy and relaxed they forget to breathe. They have moved their feeding tubes from being in their mouths to through their noses and they seem to like that better. They had the head ultrasounds today to check for bleeding and we hope to know those results tomorrow although it could be Friday before we hear anything.

During our visit this evening, I helped with their 9pm assessment -- I took temperatures and changed diapers. I'm quite inexperienced with the whole diaper thing but I know much practice is coming! They do an assessment every 3 hours - temperature, diaper change (more often if needed), weight (pretty neat - their isolettes have scales built in them so they can be weighed in their beds) and then they'll put them in a different position to lay - both girls prefer to sleep on their bellies although Sofia is also a big fan of laying on her side. She'll curl up on her side and toss her arm over her head. Tonight both girls had gained weight - Sofia weighed 2lb 9.3oz (her birth weight was 2lb 11oz) and Olivia weighed 2lb 12oz (birth weight was 2lb 12.6oz) - getting back up there!

We did learn today a little about the precautions we'll have to take with the girls after they come home. RSV (respiratory syncytial virus - the most common cause of bronchiolitis and pneumonia among infants and children under 1) is a huge concern for the girls. RSV season starts late summer and ends late spring........yeah - I had to think about that one, too. The girls will have a series of shots at various times during the RSV season to protect them but it's also our job to protect them by limiting visitors to the house and keeping the girls out of public places where there are large crowds. Basically the girls are to be quarantined for their first year. No daycare. No trips to the mall. Not much of anything. The nurse also told us that if D or I, or any of our visitors, have been in a public place with a large crowd of people, we should take a shower and change our clothes before having contact with the babies. You never know who is/was sick and who isn't / wasn't. It sounds extreme, and it really is, but their health is worth it. The last thing we want is for our little ones to get very sick and end up back in the hospital. It'll be a different year, but we'll make it through.

We took a few pictures but I don't have them loaded on my laptop so I'll post them another day. It's late but, surprisingly, the earliest I've been in bed. I keep saying I need to do a better job of resting, and I really do, but wow is it hard. Until next time!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hey guys ! The babies are gorgeous. Im sorry i haven't been to see them but i have been sick and so has becca . so for there sake i'll come see them when i come back from the beach in another week that way i make sure what i have is gone away. Congratulations to both of you. Now you'll both know what i feel when becca does something new even if it's not cool to every one else. it will be really special to you.

I love you both . Andrea write me back when you get a free moment. Tell the girls i love them and i'll see them soon.