Long Goodbyes

   The past two or three nights now, upon saying goodbye to the boys, they have made it very hard - particularly Austin.  He seems to wake up and re-energize after feeding while Aiden is fast asleep.  :o) 
   And Austin will open his eyes wide and look deep into yours making you feel guilty for leaving.  (See picture of Austin in previous post as an example.)  He even puts his arms out like he wants a hug .. or perhaps to wave goodbye.  Sweet dreams, boys.  We love you...

Just Plain Cute!

Short entry - just to share some cute pictures!  So cute, we even caught Colleen, one of the nurses, giving Aiden lots of kisses on the forehead after feeding him.  We understood.  ;o)

Our "All Star" boys!

   So, we went to Michael's a few days ago to get one thing that cost $2 and walked out half a paycheck and a big project later..!  ;o)  Just kidding!  So, we saw these in the store and had to make them for the boys!  We painted them and everything!  They were nothing but plain wood.  Shocking, we know!  Only took us 132 man-hours!  ;o)  haha...  They are hanging on the wall right by the crib.  (Pictures for the frames will go in shortly!)

   Austin is doing well.  He always makes us smile with his little hiccups after his meals.  He lets out little, high-pitched sounds that sound like Kona when Kona is barking in his dreams.  It cracks us up..!
   Now, for the unfortunate news of the day.  Mom and Dad were told that Aiden broke his right arm just below the shoulder.  The doctors and nurses have no idea how it happened and admit that it was obviously on their watch.  They say that it looks like it happened about 2 weeks ago.  While looking at a chest X-Ray today, they happened to notice that the arm was healing from an obvious break.  Mom and Dad saw the X-Ray and it indeed did not look good, but had already been building up bulky calcifications around the injury.  The doctors told us that the orthopedic doctors said the bone [thankfully] is healing completely straight and normal and should not have any lasting effects.  So that is comforting.  We are going to be in for a long ride if Aiden inherited Daddy's accident proneness..!  ;o)

Keep Truckin'!

Sorry we have not gotten to the blog in a few days.  The weekend was great.  We spent some good time with the boys.

Mom and Dad went to a Baby Boot Camp at the Hospital Saturday and learned lots of stuff!  We also spent time at their bedside watching instructional videos on all the top things like CPR, how to change a diaper (we are pros now anyway), when to call a doctor, and a bunch of other lessons.  So, maybe we are 'certified' parents now.  ;o)  We have changed them, bathed them, fed them, cuddled them, kissed them, and showered them with love.  So, we have the important stuff down!

As always, Austin loves sleeping with his hands near his face .. Such a cutie!

Aiden decided to join him .. on two different occasions!  Another cutie!

Austin is telling the whole world that he is Daddy's All Star while Aiden gets lovin' from Mom!

Continue fighting and believing!  You have all our love, boys!

Slippery When Wet..!

They share a birthday with Bon Jovi, so Dad figured he would name the subject line after one of their albums!  :o)  Austin is 5 lbs 7 ozs and Aiden is 5 lbs 13 ozs and Aiden is looking much better now.  the diuretics are working well and he has been losing a lot of the water weight that he needs to lose so that's good.

Anyway, it was time for Austin to get pictures at bath time tonight!  It really wasn't as bad as the pictures made it out to be though..!

Whilst Aiden slept peacefully!

But we did have a big scare tonight when Aiden decided to stop breathing while Dad was feeding him.  He choked on some milk and Dad promptly got the bottle out of his mouth, but Aiden wouldn't breathe despite trying to burp and agitate him.  He turned grey as the nurse came up and took Aiden from Dad.  The nurse thankfully got him to cough it out and start breathing again.  Dad was very scared to say the least even though it wasn't a long time at all.  Whew..!  Love and hugs, boys.  Love and hugs.  Kona says, "Ruff!"

Pictures galore!

Sorry it has been a few days - we have been busy putting the nursery together!

 

The boys are doing ok.  Austin is coming along fine.  Aiden is retaining some fluid.  He has swollen toes, feet, legs, arms, and face.  They are giving him diuretics and we are hopeful that they can fix whatever is causing the retention.  Austin is weighing about 5 lbs 5 ozs now and Aiden was weighed at 6 lbs 4 ozs but much of that may be the fluid.  Mom and Dad read to them this weekend!  We read them both "The Poky Little Puppy" and "Alexander, Who Used to Be Rich Last Sunday".  They loved the stories very much -- they were asleep in seconds!  haha!

 

It is so amazing to touch, hold, and just plain experience these little, tiny, animated beings..!  They are the absolute best part of our days.  We feel such immense love for them and thank each and every one of you for all your healing thoughts and prayers!  We don't usually post so many pictures, but it was too hard to choose from the 13,000 that we have.  (Yes, I am joking...)  :o)  So, we wanted to share a few more here.  Austin with Dad and Mom.

And Aiden with Grampa and Gramma Page.

We love you Aiden and Austin!

Splish Splash I was taking a bath...

Mommy and Daddy gave Aiden and Austin their bath last night.  Neither boy seemed to like it, but Mom and Dad had a blast.  After their bath, we fed them and then put them to bed.  Grandma and Grandpa Page came for a visit today.  The boys were happy to see them.  Both boys continue to do well with no significant problems.  Every day they get a little stronger and a little closer to finally coming home. 

Eyes Wide Open (sort of)

Mom got to hold both Austin and Aiden for a long time today. For the last few days, Aiden's hematocrit level has been lower than the doctors liked, so today they decided to give him a blood transfusion which he took with no problems. In addition to helping his anemia, they hope the increase in his red blood cell count will help his respiratory problems as well. Austin was very alert today with big wide open eyes! He was looking around and taking in his surroundings. Both boys had a second brain scan today and the results were normal with no evidence of brain trauma (no bleeding or swelling) which is very very good news.
Keep up the good fight boys....you are well on your way home!

Chuggin' right along

Aiden and Austin continue to make progress on their journey home. There are four areas in which Aiden and Austin must prove themselves, before the doctors will even consider discharging them...(1) they must be able to breathe on their own (with or without oxygen support), (2) they must be able to maintain their body temperatures without external heat source (i.e. the isolette), (3) they must be taking good volumes of milk by nursing or bottle feeding and gaining weight consistently, (4) they need to remember to breathe while sleeping (i.e., stop having apnea). So with that in mind here is where we are. The boys still require some respiratory support via the high flow nasal cannula, but they are slowly being weaned off and we hope in the next couple of weeks that they will not require further respiratory support (fingers crossed). They both have been able to maintain their temperatures since they were moved out of the isolettes last week. Aiden is now up to 44ml of milk every three hours and two of his feedings are by bottle each day. Austin is at 42ml of milk every three hours and he's still working on his sucking, swallowing and breathing techniques. Mom was able to feed him 12ml of milk from a bottle today. The nurses tell us it's just a matter of time and they both will be taking a bottle like little champs. Aiden now weighs 5lbs 9oz, and Austin is at 4lbs 10oz (nice steady weight gains for both). The final area (no apnea) is still giving the boys trouble (though not as much as in the past). As the boys continue to grow and mature and approach their original due date (May 21st) we hope the apnea episodes will subside. One final note, both boys had another eye exam today with no signs of ROP noted, which is great news. So that's where we are. Please continue to keep Aiden and Austin in your thoughts and prayers. They are truly an amazing miracle...such little fighters with so much strength and spirit. We look forward to the day we can bring them home where they belong.

8 April

(Pictures are of Aiden and then Austin) Daddy got to bottle-feed Aiden today. What a treat! Aiden seems to be getting the hang of the bottle. Austin hasn't quite figured it out yet but will get there soon, we're sure. Both boys are doing well although we were told that Aiden had several bradycardia episodes last night and ran a fever of 100. However, he was bundled up with a hat and two blankets so as soon as they unwrapped him, he cooled down and corrected his heart rate. (He probably takes after his Dad by being too hot all the time!) Austin is still as stoic as can be. Always looks like he is thinking and contemplating something! He often sleeps with his hands either touching his face or very close to his face, and sometimes even puts them behind his head like he is lounging at the beach! Aiden keeps the nurses guessing all the time. They never know what he is going to do..! Aiden has been smiling a bit here and there, but today as I was talking to the nurse about his occasional smiles, he busted out a huge one .. right there for the both of us .. what a sight! We love you Austin and Aiden...

Good News!

Well, today we had a great surprise when we arrived to visit the boys. Both Austin and Aiden were out of their isolettes and had been moved to open cribs...a very, very huge step forward! They have been in the open cribs all day with no problems at all. They are maintaining their body temps and have had no respiratory events. They will stay in open cribs as long as they don't start to have problems. As if that wasn't enough, they both had their first feeding from a bottle today as well. Aiden did awesome, taking 32ml of his 40ml feeding from a bottle. The nurses were very impressed....most preemie babies do not do that well the first time. Austin, however, was only able to take a few sips from the bottle and then the nurse had to stop because he was experiencing some bradycardia, spitting up and choking a little. But the nurse says that is normal (especially the first time) and that he will eventually get used to breathing, sucking, and swallowing all at the same time..it just takes some practice. For now, the nurses plan to give each boy at least one feeding per day from the bottle...little steps forward. The boys also continue to gain weight...Aiden is now 5lbs 5oz, and Austin is about 4lbs 7oz. Oh, and now that they are out of the isolettes, the nurses wanted us to bring in some clothes for them.  So all the wonderful gifts we've recieved can finally be put to use.  What a blessed day!! Good job boys....you are headed in the right direction.  We love you very much!

6 April

The boys are doing very well again..!  (whisper) Perhaps they have turned a corner..!  We hope so!  Dinah held Austin for an hour tonight as Aiden slept peacefully.  They look great and are treating the nurses very well..!  Austin weighed in at 4 lbs 4 ozs and Aiden is 5 lbs even.  :o)

5 April

Both boys are doing wonderfully today.  We got to hold each of them yesterday and today.  (Austin is on the left, Aiden is on the right).  The picture below is from yesterday so there is no CPAP, but Austin went back on the CPAP machine today because his respiratory rate was a bit high; nothing to be concerned about though.  They just didn't want him to tire out.  Aiden is in an open crib and hasn't had any apnea or bradycardia episodes in a couple days now!  The shorter the blog, the better they are!  :o)

Happy Easter

Nothing new to report as the boys continue to do great!  Yesterday, we had the chance to hold both of them at the same time.  It was the first time the boys had been together since they were born.  (Austin is on the left, Aiden is on the right). 

3 April

Aiden and Austin are both doing well this beautiful spring day. Both boys are up to full feedings of Mom's milk and are off all IV fluids. They both still require some respiratory help, but they are getting better every day. Thanks to everyone for your thoughts and prayers...they are working, so keep it up! Every day is one day closer to bringing them home! We love you Austin and Aiden!!!

1 April

The boys are doing much better.  Austin is still cruising along and Aiden is catching up.  He is bringing himself out of the woods slowly but surely over the past couple days which is nice to see.  He is also doing better with his feedings.  Aiden is getting 28 ml of milk and Austin is getting 36 ml.  They took Aiden off the ventilator around 1pm so that is good because it really irritates the throat.  He is on SiPAP (Synchronized Inspiratory Positive Airway Pressure) now and had not had an apnea or bradycardia episode all day by the time we left at 6:30pm.  They look very good and are opening their eyes a bit wider now.  Austin looked at us wide-eyed several times yesterday (31 March).  His eyes would dance and dart around, but we could tell he was looking at us and taking it all in... What a sight to behold!  We cannot wait to have them home and witness all their senses firing on all cylinders!