May 31, 2010:
33 weeks 3 days.
My first week at work was overall uneventful. The first two days were somewhat chaotic in trying to learn a routine and get back into charting and seeing patients. It seems my days are filled and napping seems to be a thing of the past (and yes, no babies at home.)Pumping is around the clock and things are interesting at work in trying to coordinate that into a shortened patient schedule in a non-friendly pumping atmosphere. I've seemed to have found a method with rushing a patient out and getting my 10-15 minutes in.... sounds exciting, right?
I'm either at the hospital before work in the morning, or after-- somedays it's both. As the boys are growing "like weeds", so are their needs. Ryan is 4# and Nathan is 3#4 oz. More on that later. They are both working really hard on getting the breathe/suck/swallow routine under control. Some days they fatigue quite easily and our sessions are short. Others, they do well and things seem to progress. It's amazing how starting out they can take in maybe 2-4 mls by bottle/breast and now they are up to 10-15 mls..all within the span of a week. Baby steps-I know! They have been keeping their temperatures quite nicely and are close to graduating from their isolettes--plus they can wear sleepers or onesies too! On the oxygen side of things, Ryan is on a "whiff" of oxygen and can do well on his own, but add in sucking/swallowing/k cares to the mix and it's too much for him. So, he's back on for the time being. Nathan, the smaller of the two, and the babe who was intubated in the beginning, still has immature lungs. They've attempted to give him Lasix (water pill/diuretic) to see if pulling off a little extra fluid would help wean him from his oxygen consumption. It hasn't benefited him at this point, only inhibited his weight gain and pulled off electrolytes requiring replacement. Because of his respiratory distress syndrome (rds) at birth, his chest xrays look like chronic lung disease. Preemies usually outgrow this at some point-days, weeks, months, maybe even years later. It also could mean that he could potentially have to go home on oxgen as well. We won't know the final answer to this until 36 weeks. So, wait and see.
I can say that it has been a complete joy in my life to see their daily and weekly progression (although it is confined to the NICU setting). They make me laugh everday with their cute half smiles, facial expressions, and sleeping positions that make it so hard to leave. I've learned to let go just a little in continuing to keep my life going outside of the hospital setting. I've even had a beer or two to try and relax for once.
We will have to see what another week brings..more pictures, more memories. I completed half of a scrapbook for them this weekend. This has my pregnancy pictures matched with their ultrasound pictures (I had a ton of both!!) With their bath this week, I will complete it will their footprints. Should look pretty good. Other than that, their room stands complete and ready for their arrival. We have even started stocking up on diapers....pick some up here and there. I'm sure we will never have enough! Enjoy the pictures!