January 12, 2014

Karley now weighs 1550 grams which is 3.42 pounds. She had labs done early this morning and her bilirubin levels dropped to 6.5 which was enough to get her off the big overhead light. (If I remember right her levels before were at 9.something!) This means she can be swaddled again which is great!! It was hard to watch her be uncomfortable and flailing yesterday. Bentley now weighs 1660 grams which is 3.66 pounds. His bilirubin levels as of yesterday (he didn't have labs done today) were 7.5. Karley and Bentley won't have labs again until Tuesday which is a good sign! They both got upped to 30 mls of breast milk per feeding. This is just over an ounce every 3 hours which is awesome! Due to this, they stopped the tpn (nutrients/nutrition) and they are on absolutely nothing coming through their umbilical vein. Since the umbilical vein line wasn't being used, they also removed that!!! The only things they have now are 3 leads for the monitors, a pulse oximeter, and a feeding tube! It was wonderful to watch both IV poles leave the room!

We did kangaroo care this morning for about 2 1/2 hours.

Paul and Karley:

Bentley and I: (He held onto my black shirt the whole time!)

Bentley has had a little bit of a rough afternoon. He is having a shallow breathing pattern and his oxygen levels drop below the cutoff and set the alarms off. It was happening pretty constantly and sometimes every minute. The good news is he pulls out of it within seconds on his own and it is very common for this to occur in preemies. The nurse actually said she wished she had a new nurse to show his breathing pattern to because it was like a perfect example of a shallow breathing pattern. Due to it continuing to happen, they gave him some caffeine this evening and that is supposed to help with his breathing. He will continue on this as needed. They said he came come home on it if need be and we would be sent home with an apnea monitor. Or he may be sent home not needing the caffeine anymore. They said either way, it's not a big deal. It wasn't fun to listen to the monitors going off pretty much constantly all afternoon but I also know that it is typical.

My mom came to visit and had lunch with us at the cafeteria. Brandon and his girlfriend also came for the first time. I am very glad they came to visit and see us!

Karley had her first blow out diaper when it was daddy's turn to change her! :)

Because their umbilical lines came out, they were able to be swaddled in a Halo swaddle blanket for the first time!

Karley in her swaddle blanket: (Actually her second one! I changed her diaper and she decided to poop again which I caught but then she peed and I wasn't expecting that! It got on her first swaddle blanket!)

 

Bentley in his swaddle blanket:

Paul left to head home. It was super tough to watch him say goodbye to our children. He will go back to get some things done around the house and work but will be back periodically throughout the week to visit for a few hours.

I truly can't say enough good things about him!!! He was absolutely amazing through the whole process of us getting pregnant, through my pregnancy and hospital stay, and now through our NICU adventure. This whole thing has truly been quite the journey! He is sooo strong through everything, is always there willing to jump in and help with anything, and is truly my better half! Watching him interact with our children is truly amazing. He is always helping the nurses with their cares every three hours without being asked and gets right in there. He is constantly talking to out children and reassuring them that everything is okay when needed. When he was holding Karley for kangaroo care a few days ago (even though Karley was sleeping) he was going through pictures on his phone and telling her things like "This is Kayce, your puppy at home!" It truly melts my heart to just listen and watch him. He has been more than amazing as a best friend and husband to me and is already showing how wonderful of a father he is to our two miracles! Gosh....we are blessed!!!!