We're Home (sorry for the delay!)

Whew...we made it!



We are knee deep in bottles and burp cloths and I LOVE IT! Daddy had to go to work today so Grammy and Great Aunt Kathy are here with me and we're watching babies eat sleep and poop. Oh how I've waited for this day.

It was an uneventful homecoming which is a good thing. We got home around 3pm yesterday and I spent the first hour just staring at the boys sitting in their seats together. JD was wide awake and not at all phased by Cole's arrival. Cole was pooped out from the trip home and slept for a good part of the evening. He's as happy to be home as we are to have him home.

Our first night went great - I still have to wake them up every three hours to eat so by the time we feed and diaper both, it's about an hour and a half process. Thank goodness I am an easy sleeper and I can go right back to sleep the minute my head hits the pillow. I'm still running on adrenaline now so the lack of sleep will take a while to catch up with me I think.

We have an oxygen machine in the living room - and it sounds like a lawnmower is running in the house. It's pretty funny actually. It has to be on all of the time so the boys will certainly get used to constant noise - which is a great thing! The oxygen hose is long enough to go everywhere in the house so although Cole is hooked up 100% of the time, he can hang with us wherever we are. It will be a bit of an adjustment but we're getting the hang of it pretty quick. The apnea monitor carts around with us too everywhere we go - it's a box about the size of a 12 pack of beer and it has a shoulder strap on it. It has become my extra appendage. So far, we've had several "loose lead" alarms which make me want to chuck the thing out the window, after I calm down from the initial alarm scare. Luckily, we haven't had any real alarms yet other than a couple of apnea episodes that self resolved due to his reflux. It's actually a good thing though, since having the monitor allows me to sleep at night since it will beep if he has a problem.

Anyway, here are a few photos from yesterday of Cole. He's a happy camper, that is for sure!








HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE - WE ALL HAVE SO MUCH TO BE THANKFUL FOR. SAFE TRAVELS IF YOU'RE TRAVELING. ENJOY YOUR FAMILIES AND ALL OF THE GOODIES - GOD BLESS!

Today's the day!

Well, Cole had a great night for his last night in the NICU. He's ready and waiting to come home. I talked to our nurse this morning and she said he was all bright eyed and bushy tailed, ready to go!

As I sit here and wait for the oxygen man to arrive, I'm blubbering my eyes out just thinking about how long we've waited for this day. It's almost surreal that after today, we don't have to go to the hospital any more. We can pick up and hug our kids anytime we want since they will be under our roof. We'll be like a normal family now!

The emotions running around in my head are all over the place. I'm so thankful for this day. Walking out of NICU and the hospital is going to be bittersweet. I'll miss my new friends there. They were our support system. And some of the babies and their parents who we are leaving behind will be missed so much. Jack and his parents are hopefully close behind and will be home soon too. But it's so hard to leave them there. We're having such a special day and it breaks my heart that they will be there watching us leave and they have to stay...

The daily trips to the hospital are the only thing I have known since June, when I was admitted. Now I get to be home and actually be a Mom. It's time. It's been far too long - but it's funny, when you're doing it, you don't look at it that way. You just rally and do what you have to do. So many families are in our same shoes and they do the same. You take it one day at a time. Until your stay is over and the day you've waited for finally arrives. It's a surreal feeling. As much as you think about the day that you'll have your baby(ies) home finally, you never get your heart set on it. Because it can be taken away so quick. I'll believe it when Cole is sitting in his car seat in the back of my truck. Then I'll accept that he's really coming home.

I'll never ever be able to explain how thankful we are for the NICU staff. Each and every one of the people that work in NICU are amazing. The care was exceptional, support never ending and friendships so comforting. Nurses are nurses because they want to care for others - but they, like teachers, are so under appreciated. We owe the lives of our beautiful children to the nurses. They got us all where we are today. And I'm not sure that nurses look at it like that. All of them need to know that we will feel forever indebted to them for their gift to our family. It's hard to put into words.

Better get going and pack up Cole's bag with his coming home outfit and stuff. We're really bringing this baby home. I'm still reeling that it's finally here. More later...

It's the boys DUE DATE!

Can you believe that today is the day that the babies were actually due to be born? As I sit here in disbelief that they really weren't even supposed to be here until today, I cannot believe what the last 12 weeks have brought. Today is Day #83 of life for the boys - and tomorrow they will be exactly 12 weeks old (in weeks). Next week they will be 3 months old already. That is just amazing to me.

And the best part? COLE COMES HOME TOMORROW! He only has one more wake up in the NICU and then he gets to come home & sleep in his own bed and wear his own jammies! And he gets to be with his brother again too - I've wondered so much if they know that they have been separated since birth. I can't wait to get them back together again and let them look at each other!

It's a day full of reflection for us - thinking back to what brought us to this place is pretty unbelievable. Tonight will be our last night visit to the hospital in 83 days. Tomorrow will be our last drive to the hospital to visit the NICU. A rough calculation of trips made is over 220 trips; considering that we usually did 3 trips per day. I think I kept the valet company in business at the hospital!

I can't help but think about Baby Cal though. As excited as I am that this NICU journey is coming to a close and our family will be together at last, it is also a reminder that we are missing one of our team members. He is with us in spirit and will always watch over all of us - we know that. But seeing only two of everything when there should have been three is sad for me. I miss him a lot.

Today will be a busy day getting things ready for Baby Cole's homecoming. We have lots of training to do on the monitors and oxygen equipment, as well as getting prescriptions filled and follow up doctors appointments scheduled for later in the week. It will all get done and I assure you, you haven't seen this big of a smile on my face in quite some time. The day we've been waiting for is just around the corner. I can hardly believe it.

Thank you for your continued prayers and support. Pictures will follow of the big day - and we'll keep the updates coming. Until then, wish us luck that Cole stays healthy for one more day so we can get him out of there! Love to all.

We're still growing bigger every day...

And much to Mommy's surprise, JD is over 7 pounds now! Yikes! At his check up today, he tipped the scale at 7lb, 6 oz (with a full poopy diaper and a onesie on). He's growing like a weed. I know 7 pounds probably sounds like small potatos to most of you but after seeing these guys at 2 pounds, 7 pounds is huge!

And Cole is too! He actually hit the 5 pound mark last night - and his cheeks are looking chubbier than ever now. It's so amazing that these two little guys have come so far - they look like real babies now. Cole has taken all of his feedings by bottle for the last 48 hours now so he's got bottle feeding mastered we think. Now we work on the oxygen weaning and we're ready to go. There is talk of coming home next week with him on oxygen. Not so sure how we feel about that yet but we'll wait through the weekend and then make a decision about whether to bring him home with oxygen or leave him a bit longer. I think you know which way I'm leaning on this one ~ it's time for him to be home. I don't care what it takes at this point.

We're Coasting along...

Just a quick update. Cole is coasting right along for now - no major changes. He has taken all of his bottles now for over 24 hours so that is a great milestone. They will probably pull his feeding tube in the next couple of days if he keeps this up. That should make it easier for him to eat when the tube is removed. It should also help his reflux.

He's still on oxygen and we're weaning him down slowly again. There is talk of a homecoming next week but we are just taking it one day at a time. We don't want him home until he's ready to be here so we're trying to be as patient as we can. He's almost to 5 pounds now - last night he was 4lb, 14.4 oz. Perhaps he'll hit FIVE pounds tonight.

All else is going well on the homefront. We're loving the nanny - she's working out wonderfully. She adores JD and it appears that he is very relaxed and content with her. I feel very lucky that so far this is working out so well.

Until tomorrow...g'night all.

New NICU, here we come!

WOW, what an emotional day. Ever have one of those days that you think will just be a normal day and whammo, it smacks you in the face like a ton of bricks? I think I cried more today than I have in several weeks. I'm sure it was a bit of denial that we really weren't going to make it to the new unit because we would be home by then and low and behold, here we are. It also is such a huge day for our NICU nurses and family and everyone was just glowing in excitement and so proud of the new place.

They moved the babies over according to seniority - which I thought was very cool. Little Baby Alaina (born at 1lb, 9 oz) was the leader of the pack. Then Cole was second, and his little friend Jack was right behind him. Sadly, I missed Cole's transfer but I arrived minutes after he had been wheeled into his new room. I walked in behind Jack and his Mom, through the line of cheering nurses that lined the hallway as each of the babies arrived to the new unit. Camera's were flashing and all of the welcoming nurses were clapping. It was a day to remember for sure.

The rooms are awesome - Cole is the first patient in Room 232. I have posted a few pictures of his new place. It took a couple of hours for the babies to settle down - many of them were overwhelmed by the noise and chaos during the move, Cole included. I stayed with him for a few hours until he settled in. Of course, I'll be back tonight as soon as the doors open at 8pm.

One of the coolest things is that there was a handmade quilt in his room when we arrived. It was made by an organization called The Angel Quilt Project. This wonderful organization makes quilts for NICU units, Childrens cancer units and regional Burn centers. The man who started the organization back in 2000 did so to let parents of premature children know that there are people out in the world who have faced the same conditions that we are facing now. The quilt is a gift for us to keep after we leave the hospital. All that they ask in return is a photo of our baby with the quilt for their scrapbook. You can see the quilt hanging on the chair in the room photo. It was specially selected for Cole by the nurses because of it's sports theme. It's cross stitched in the center and has a little baseball player on it. We will treasure it forever and Cole will always know how special it is.





And here is Cole, all settled in.

Mission Impossible

Check out the link to Jack's blog for the latest plottings for escape by Jack and Cole...

http://everythingaboutjack.blogspot.com/

Ready for the big move!

We're ready to move to the new unit tomorrow - moving time is 10:00 am so by this time tomorrow, we'll be all settled in. I'll give a good update tomorrow but for now, all is well.

Cole is hanging in there - sadly, they had to move his IV to his head today which is tough to see. But they tell us that it actually is much more comfy for the babies there since it's not always getting bumped and pulled. Only 6 more days on the antibiotics and then the IV gets pulled. It sure looks scary though. Until that comes out, we will not be taking any more photos of Cole - he wouldn't appreciate that too much.

Here are a few snaps from earlier today though - see any resemblance?

Cole



JD

We're still chuggin' along

Well, as of 2am this morning, Cole was taken off of his oxygen again. He appears to be doing well so far without it so that is a great thing! He's eating much better now and has taken a couple of bottles from both C. & I. He actually wakes up crying due to hunger which is a good sign. He's weighing in at about 4 lb, 10 oz now. Hoping for a significant weight gain this week. Since he got sick, he's been staying about the same weight. I'm actually very thankful for that since most of the time when these little guys get sick, they actually lose weight.

JD is doing great at home. He eats like a champ and sleeps straight through to his next feed. I wake him up every 3 hours to eat. He's eating a little over 2 ounces right now. I think he's probably almost 7 pounds now - he's growing so fast. He's already out of his preemie clothes and almost out of preemie diapers. It doesn't take long! He loves to be in his swing - but most of all, he loves to sleep on Daddy's chest. He's getting spoiled already - imagine that. He's a pacifier fiend and seems to be happy as a clam all of the time. We are truly blessed.

All of the kids are moving to the new NICU on Tuesday so that will be an adventure. I can't imagine the planning that is involved in moving 24+ babies in critical care to a new area. I am bummed that we have to go since I was hoping we would all be home by then but it's going to be awesome to hang in the new NICU unit for a short time. We'll have our own private room, with a flat screen tv, which is pretty awesome. The rooms are beautiful and it will be much more quiet and restful for Cole. I'll try to take some pictures of his new place once we get moved in. We're hoping to have a room connected to or near our friends - Jack's parents. We've developed a nice bond having gone through so much at the same time. We'll miss them so much after we leave the little room we're in now!

As of now, we have a few milestones to make before our homecoming. 1) Cole needs to continue off of his oxygen with no episodes (A's & B's) for at least 5 days. 2) He also needs to be able to take 8 full bottles before they will remove his feeding tube. Once the tube comes out, he's pretty much ready to come home. 3) He is still on antibiotics for his infection and I believe that those should end on the 16th. Those are given by IV so he can't continue on them at home unfortunately. That just means we have to stay until they are finished.

It will be questionable whether he will come home with a monitor or not. We have mixed feelings about that but will go with whatever is the safest and best for him of course. It will be a bit nerve wracking either way but I know in just a couple of days after he gets home, he'll just take off and thrive, just like JD did.

We've got lots of follow up appointments with the boys over the next couple of weeks for their hearing, eyes, shots etc. I've gone solo to the doc with JD and it was easy but thinking about taking two of them is a whole new ball game. Luckily I'll have helpers! They are scheduled to be circumcized by a urologist the week of Thanksgiving so we'll hope that Cole is home by then so they can give each other the moral support they need for such a procedure.

Our nanny starts tomorrow so that will be good - she is a Chilean girl who has been working for one of my friends for a few years. We're sharing her during the week so I'll have her from 9:15 - 2:45 each day. She will put Suze's kids on the bus and get them off of the bus in the pm so I have her in between. I'm sure she will be a great help. Once the boys are home and stable, I'll work on my return to work plan. I'm going back to work after the holidays so need to figure out logistics for the boys. It's just so hard to plan right now, not knowing what Cole's needs will be etc.

That's about it for today. Going to grab some dinner before my night visit with Cole. Hope you all enjoyed the weekend - until tomorrow...

JD contemplates how to get his brother home...

I think I can, I think I can....