Hello again everyone . . . sorry that its been longer than anticipated again, but we've been occupied for the past three days in very encouraging, positive ways . . . definitely happy to provide this progress report as its mostly good news as we pass into the 37th week since conception for the boys.
Noel has had an absolutely amazing three days . . . after taking two steps forward followed by two steps back during his first few days after delivery, Noel is firmly on the "forward progress" route and making great strides. His successfully managed his extobation and we think the second dose of lung development medicine definitely helped. He lived with the much more cumbersome C-PAP (heavy breathing assistance) for two full days and during those two C-PAP days, we definitely saw the return of the Noel screech, which a little unsettling but also comforting, as he'd been so silent while he was intobated. Happily, Noel's nurse on Monday felt that he was definitely ready to move off the C-PAP (she may have, in fact, assisted in the "inadvertant" dismantling of said C-PAP) and got the OK to move him to a simple, light oxygen tube, which is far more comfortable for him . . . not long thereafter, calm Noel returned to us again (tho Noel is definitely seems to be the more "expressive" of the two). The nurses have likened Noel's journey to training for a marathon and we're hoping his little lungs have completed their training and are close to ready to handling the job without assistance. In even better "Noel news," he is the best eater imagineable . . . he had always taken to the pacifier more than Ethan (translation: craved it for soothing), so we'd thought that might the case, but we were relieved to have those thoughts affirmed. He pretty much downs any amount of formula they precribe with audible enjoyment and has never needed to gavage (using a small feeding tube) a leftover amount like his brother so often does . . . after just 36 short hours of feeding, Noel hit his "max feeding" overnight and just cruised through it - we're hoping that continues (for reasons that will be come obvious as you read further in this blog posting). We're definitely excited to learn more about his unaffected personality now that he's in more comfort and we're also ready to see his cute little face without all of the swelling that comes with the C-PAP.
Noel has had an absolutely amazing three days . . . after taking two steps forward followed by two steps back during his first few days after delivery, Noel is firmly on the "forward progress" route and making great strides. His successfully managed his extobation and we think the second dose of lung development medicine definitely helped. He lived with the much more cumbersome C-PAP (heavy breathing assistance) for two full days and during those two C-PAP days, we definitely saw the return of the Noel screech, which a little unsettling but also comforting, as he'd been so silent while he was intobated. Happily, Noel's nurse on Monday felt that he was definitely ready to move off the C-PAP (she may have, in fact, assisted in the "inadvertant" dismantling of said C-PAP) and got the OK to move him to a simple, light oxygen tube, which is far more comfortable for him . . . not long thereafter, calm Noel returned to us again (tho Noel is definitely seems to be the more "expressive" of the two). The nurses have likened Noel's journey to training for a marathon and we're hoping his little lungs have completed their training and are close to ready to handling the job without assistance. In even better "Noel news," he is the best eater imagineable . . . he had always taken to the pacifier more than Ethan (translation: craved it for soothing), so we'd thought that might the case, but we were relieved to have those thoughts affirmed. He pretty much downs any amount of formula they precribe with audible enjoyment and has never needed to gavage (using a small feeding tube) a leftover amount like his brother so often does . . . after just 36 short hours of feeding, Noel hit his "max feeding" overnight and just cruised through it - we're hoping that continues (for reasons that will be come obvious as you read further in this blog posting). We're definitely excited to learn more about his unaffected personality now that he's in more comfort and we're also ready to see his cute little face without all of the swelling that comes with the C-PAP.
Ethan has remained in a very positive status quo since our last meeting . . . he has remained withiout any outside breathing support since last Thursday and maintains really solid oxygen levels and breaths per minute all on his own. Happily, the swelling in his face went down over the weekend and we really able to see his cute little face. Ethan is utterly content in his NICU home and only cries for brief moments (if at all) before settling back into a peaceful slumber . . . they moved him into a standard mini-crib a few days ago and we have stocked him with some clothes and blankets to make his crib more into a little home. The MD's stopped all antibiotics for Ethan given the results of his blood levels, so we're now solely focused on Ethan's feeding, which brings us to the "one step back" news . . . Ethan's initial interest in feeding has certainly waned and he's definitely struggling to develop interest in his "every 3 hours" feeding schedule. He's been at a max feeding level of around 50 cc's for a few days now, but he just doesn't have much interest in the bottle . . . when he does feed, he will only make it through about 20 cc's before losing interest (translation: zzzzzzzz). They then supplment the balance through his little feeding tube which seems totally acceptable to him. They're evaluating him for a possible milk alergy or possibly extreme reflux, but we're guessing its also just might still be a bit early (at 37 weeks) for Ethan and he'll take bottle feeding up when he's able to manage it . . . as we mentioned above, he also has limited interest in a pacifier, so he may just prefer sleep over food for another fews days.
With the above progress, I'm sure everyone can imagine that Adam and I have loved the experience of the past 3 days . . . we're now managing much of the boys' care . . . we do the 8pm bathtime (actually the highlight of our day, as we laugh all the way through it) and handle diapers and feedings for the 9 am, 12 pm, 3pm and 9 pm routines. We're trying to be little information sponges, taking every bit of wisdom the nurses are willing to provide and it's really raised our confidence to a point that we're defintely ready to have them home when the time comes. With all of this great progress, we'll present our first collective family portraits . . .
We continue to appreciate the postive thoughts, prayers, and stories of encouragement from everyone . . . we have felt incredibly loved and supported and we've passed that feeling onto Ethan and Noel at every opportunity. We're excited to introduce them to our entire extended family in the coming weeks and we're sure that everyone will be as enamored of them as we are. Thanks again we hope that this update finds everyone happy and well.
Love to everyone,
The Brudam Brigade
Love to everyone,
The Brudam Brigade
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