Okay, we know from conversations, emails and phone calls that there are a number of you who check the blog and follow the boys pretty regularly. It is my understanding that it is a bit of a pain in the A double S to post a comment, but Jay and I would really, really appreciate it if you would take the time to post. Some day we will use this to make our sons feel incredibly guilty about their very existence, but it would also be very nice for them to know how many of you were thinking of them, praying for them and just were generally interested in them.
We really appreciate it and, as the spokesmen for Bartles and James used to say, we thank you for your support.
Friday, July 21, 2006
Friday night update
Okay, since the battery isn't dying on my laptop, I should be able to do a longer post. For your entertainment and amusement there are a number of new photos posted. The big news is that Michele brought St. Louis Cardinal booties back from her most recent girls' weekend. She is determined to turn the boys in to All Americans and baseball is an important part of that. Since Jay has absolutely no understanding of the game and I suffer from a near terminal case of lack of interest, it is up to her to fill that gap. Jerseys will no doubt be forthcoming at some point, but the booties are a start. Allan (of course) was content to keep his on. Griffith (of course) immediately began working full-time to kick his off. He got both of them off (which I put back on), then one (which I put back on) and I'm sure that if I called to check, Caitlyn would tell me that she has just given up. I guess the best I can say is that they give him a focus for his energy and irritation. The two days of sleeping have apparently left him wide awake and ready for entertainment. Not only did he and Jenny sing and dance, but she also held him in her lap so that he could look out in the hall. I really don't know what we are going to do with him when he gets home -- it is going to be quite dull here comparatively. He's very social and apparently has quite a fan club amongst the nurses and staff in the NICU. Jenny says that he looks and nods his head to say "hello" to everyone who stops by. When we left him, he was completely distracted by the mirror. Vanity Smurf can not get enough of looking at himself. He is a fine-looking specimen.
Not to be outdone, Allan has his own groupies. Krista (who works nights) was afraid that she wouldn't get him because Alissa's shift ended at 3 today and she (Krista) didn't come on until 7. Apparently she finagled around and got the schedule adjusted so that she would get him tonight. (They like him, they really, really like him!) He's such a sweet-natured little guy, it is hard not to just want to pick him up and squeeze him. Especially considering that there wasn't much there there before. He still hasn't regained the pep that he had last week but he is making slow and steady progress. He's just a little more delicate than his brother (for all that he outweighs him by about a pound and a half these days) and when he gets a little down, it takes a lot for him to catch back up. He is moving in the right direction, though, and always looks forward to the weekends because he gets to see his girlfriend, Jennifer. Their relationship did take a bit of a negative turn last weekend, but absence does make the heart grow fonder. So long as she doesn't traumatize him again, I'm sure he'll forgive her. Sort of. Although we have clearly established that he has Jay's laid back approach to life, the explosive poos and retributive tooting seem to indicate that he has some of his Momma in him, too. I wouldn't be at all surprised if there isn't some sort of an ambush this weekend.
Not to be outdone, Allan has his own groupies. Krista (who works nights) was afraid that she wouldn't get him because Alissa's shift ended at 3 today and she (Krista) didn't come on until 7. Apparently she finagled around and got the schedule adjusted so that she would get him tonight. (They like him, they really, really like him!) He's such a sweet-natured little guy, it is hard not to just want to pick him up and squeeze him. Especially considering that there wasn't much there there before. He still hasn't regained the pep that he had last week but he is making slow and steady progress. He's just a little more delicate than his brother (for all that he outweighs him by about a pound and a half these days) and when he gets a little down, it takes a lot for him to catch back up. He is moving in the right direction, though, and always looks forward to the weekends because he gets to see his girlfriend, Jennifer. Their relationship did take a bit of a negative turn last weekend, but absence does make the heart grow fonder. So long as she doesn't traumatize him again, I'm sure he'll forgive her. Sort of. Although we have clearly established that he has Jay's laid back approach to life, the explosive poos and retributive tooting seem to indicate that he has some of his Momma in him, too. I wouldn't be at all surprised if there isn't some sort of an ambush this weekend.
Go Cardinals!
Allan was very excited by the St. Louis Cardinal booties that Michele brought back for him.
Keeping it between the ditches - July 21st
The boys were doing very well at lunch and we hope they continue that pattern through the weekend.
Allan was wide awake when I got there for lunch. He's still a little puffy but they are holding off on any more diuretics until his electrolytes get back in balance. Momma needs to drink some Gatorade, I suppose. (Is it in you?) His breathing is a lot easier than it had been though and he's acting more like himself.
Griffith is definitely feeling better. Jenny said that he had been awake all morning again and that they danced and sang (Winchester Cathedral was a big hit. Jenny is a fan of the oldies.)
Here's hoping for more good days.
Allan was wide awake when I got there for lunch. He's still a little puffy but they are holding off on any more diuretics until his electrolytes get back in balance. Momma needs to drink some Gatorade, I suppose. (Is it in you?) His breathing is a lot easier than it had been though and he's acting more like himself.
Griffith is definitely feeling better. Jenny said that he had been awake all morning again and that they danced and sang (Winchester Cathedral was a big hit. Jenny is a fan of the oldies.)
Here's hoping for more good days.
Friday - July 21
We have a six pound baby! Allan weighs in at 6 pounds 1 ounce. Not bad for someone who only weighed 1 pound 9 when he got here. He had a pretty good night. He got a bath and is all slicked up with baby lotion so he smells great. We got to snuggle for about an hour. His oxygen is still a little high, but he is still getting rid of a fair amount of fluid. We hope that they'll be able to come down on it pretty soon.
Griffith is doing well with his recovery. He pooped last night while we were there (which brought a cheer from the nurses on night shift) and did it two more times through the night. Amazing what you can do when your intestine isn't all twisted. He has also been eating a little and seems to be enjoying that. Dad was able to hold him last night and I'm planning on getting my hands on him at lunch today.
Griffith is doing well with his recovery. He pooped last night while we were there (which brought a cheer from the nurses on night shift) and did it two more times through the night. Amazing what you can do when your intestine isn't all twisted. He has also been eating a little and seems to be enjoying that. Dad was able to hold him last night and I'm planning on getting my hands on him at lunch today.
Thursday, July 20, 2006
Fantastic boys
The boys were doing great at lunch.
Griffith was extubated at about 11 and was doing just fine off of the vent. He had been awake all morning according to Jenny and was wide awake while I was there. I don't know if he was just very well rested from the two days' sleep or if he is afraid of what will happen if he goes to sleep again. Either way he was pretty alert. With a little bit of luck, he'll get to start eating again this afternoon.
Allan was wide awake, too. He is clearly feeling much better and has lost a lot of the fluid that had built up. He's still puffy, but his breathing is easier and slower. He was apparently feeling pretty sassy (full of beans?) at lunch because he kept tooting in Alissa's face while she was trying to change his diaper. It is a good thing he's so darned cute or that kind of behavior might be considered annoying.
Griffith was extubated at about 11 and was doing just fine off of the vent. He had been awake all morning according to Jenny and was wide awake while I was there. I don't know if he was just very well rested from the two days' sleep or if he is afraid of what will happen if he goes to sleep again. Either way he was pretty alert. With a little bit of luck, he'll get to start eating again this afternoon.
Allan was wide awake, too. He is clearly feeling much better and has lost a lot of the fluid that had built up. He's still puffy, but his breathing is easier and slower. He was apparently feeling pretty sassy (full of beans?) at lunch because he kept tooting in Alissa's face while she was trying to change his diaper. It is a good thing he's so darned cute or that kind of behavior might be considered annoying.
Peaceful night
The report from Dad is that the boys had a peaceful night. Allan was doing better and had gotten rid of a fair amount of fluid. We hope that continues through the day and that he gets back on track.
Griffith rested well through the night, too. The plan is to extubate him today. I don't know how long it will be before we can hold him, but we are both itching to.
Griffith rested well through the night, too. The plan is to extubate him today. I don't know how long it will be before we can hold him, but we are both itching to.
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
Wednesday night July 19th
All is well with the boys. No reason for the late post other than Momma played hookey from work today and took a nap this afternoon. Fretting kind of caught up with me.
Griffith is doing well. He was still on the vent, though. The docs decided to give him a little more time to get over the surgery before they took the morphine away from him. The issue is that the pain meds depress his breathing. They are going to space out the morphine a little more and possibly get him off of the vent tomorrow. Frankly, I am all about the pain management -- for me and for my child. If we could get a 2 for 1 (or 3 or 4 for 1) deal, I would be all for it. Still I am ready to have my bright-eyed, irritated baby boy back so the sooner we are off of the meds the better.
Allan still isn't quite back to normal. They were trying to get him off of his diuretics, but it didn't work so well and he ended up with a fair amount of fluid on him before they realized what was happening. They have adjusted his meds and he is peeing like a little bitty racehorse, but he is still working pretty hard. Despite this he did quite well on his developmental assessment. (Griffith didn't get assessed because of his impending surgery.) As part of the full service provided in the NICU, the boys get assessed by a physical therapist. Apparently there are certain common issues that premature babies have from a physical development standpoint. If they had stayed where they belonged, the boys would have been all snuggled up in the fetal position for a lot longer than they were. As a result of coming early, they have laid in a more open position than they would have otherwise so that the muscles on the their backs have become stronger than the ones on the front (abductors v. adductors) and there are certain exercises that we will need to do to balance that out (head, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes ?.) Still Allan apparently did very well with the testing which included such things as turning his head left and right to scan for where sounds were coming from. (It didn't hurt that it was a pretty girl who was testing him.)
Griffith is doing well. He was still on the vent, though. The docs decided to give him a little more time to get over the surgery before they took the morphine away from him. The issue is that the pain meds depress his breathing. They are going to space out the morphine a little more and possibly get him off of the vent tomorrow. Frankly, I am all about the pain management -- for me and for my child. If we could get a 2 for 1 (or 3 or 4 for 1) deal, I would be all for it. Still I am ready to have my bright-eyed, irritated baby boy back so the sooner we are off of the meds the better.
Allan still isn't quite back to normal. They were trying to get him off of his diuretics, but it didn't work so well and he ended up with a fair amount of fluid on him before they realized what was happening. They have adjusted his meds and he is peeing like a little bitty racehorse, but he is still working pretty hard. Despite this he did quite well on his developmental assessment. (Griffith didn't get assessed because of his impending surgery.) As part of the full service provided in the NICU, the boys get assessed by a physical therapist. Apparently there are certain common issues that premature babies have from a physical development standpoint. If they had stayed where they belonged, the boys would have been all snuggled up in the fetal position for a lot longer than they were. As a result of coming early, they have laid in a more open position than they would have otherwise so that the muscles on the their backs have become stronger than the ones on the front (abductors v. adductors) and there are certain exercises that we will need to do to balance that out (head, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes ?.) Still Allan apparently did very well with the testing which included such things as turning his head left and right to scan for where sounds were coming from. (It didn't hurt that it was a pretty girl who was testing him.)
Wednesday morning update
Griffith had a good night. He's still not quite back to himself, but he is getting there. He was opening his eyes and holding his Dad's hand this morning. He had a little morphine a couple of times through the night which helped make him more comfortable but also makes him groggy, of course. He was doing well with his breathing and they are planning on extubating him today. Based on his past performances, they had better do it before he realizes that they put it back because he is going to be p.o.'d if he figures it out.
Allan, not content to let his brother get all of the attention, has been having a little trouble. He's is kind of puffy (yes, we can tell the puffy from the chubby, thank you very much!) because he is retaining fluid. This is making him breath faster and heavier than we would like. He was due for a bath last night, but we called that off -- didn't want to put him through the extra effort and stress. Anyway, the docs are going to discuss that this morning and decide how to address it.
More later.
Allan, not content to let his brother get all of the attention, has been having a little trouble. He's is kind of puffy (yes, we can tell the puffy from the chubby, thank you very much!) because he is retaining fluid. This is making him breath faster and heavier than we would like. He was due for a bath last night, but we called that off -- didn't want to put him through the extra effort and stress. Anyway, the docs are going to discuss that this morning and decide how to address it.
More later.
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
Allan all wide-eyed
This was Allan after the near-drowning incident. That's all it takes to get him very alert.
Way to go, Griffith!
Griffith's surgery went well. He was taken down around 10:30 and was back around 1:00 or so. He is zonked out still and probably will be until tomorrow some time. He is on the vent, but as soon as he wakes up, they will extubate him.
Things went about as well as we could have hoped. Dr. Joe went in to repair the hernia, but realized pretty quickly that the small intestine actually formed part of the hernia wall. It was stuck in it. So, he had to make an incision and go in through that and cut the bowel away from the hernia wall. Then he stitched up the hernia and they were done. He didn't have to take out any of the bowel at all. Apparently some times the hernia would twist and cut off the intestine which is what was causing the problems.
Griff did very well and we hope that he will be on the mend very soon. Thanks to every one for your thoughts and prayers.
Things went about as well as we could have hoped. Dr. Joe went in to repair the hernia, but realized pretty quickly that the small intestine actually formed part of the hernia wall. It was stuck in it. So, he had to make an incision and go in through that and cut the bowel away from the hernia wall. Then he stitched up the hernia and they were done. He didn't have to take out any of the bowel at all. Apparently some times the hernia would twist and cut off the intestine which is what was causing the problems.
Griff did very well and we hope that he will be on the mend very soon. Thanks to every one for your thoughts and prayers.
Monday, July 17, 2006
Surgery 101
Griffith is going in for surgery tomorrow morning. Right now he is on the schedule for 8:50, but he isn't the first case so he could get delayed or, I suppose, get bumped up earlier (unlikely, but possible.) At any rate, we met with the surgeon late this afternoon and it may not be a bad thing that we got delayed from last Thursday. I would love to be that much further down the line, but with the additional time has come a change in plans. Griffith has had intermittent symptoms with his belly -- he'll swell up and be uncomfortable for a while and then he'll be better. He'll poop fine for a while, then he won't. This really isn't how he should behave if he had a stricture. If he had a stricture then he should pretty much have symptoms and they shouldn't get better. The working theory is that it may relate to his right inguinal hernia (he also has an umbilical hernia). Sometimes his bowel drops a loop through the hernia and some times it isn't there. Dr. Joe proposes to go in through his belly button and fix the right inguinal hernia. Then he is going to do a scope of the small intestine to see if he can locate a stricture. If he looks and doesn't find any thing, then he may just end it there and be through with it. Of course, if he finds something, then he has to make another incision and take care of it. There is the "third way" which is that he may not be able to tell enough with the scope to be satisfied that he has taken care of the problem so he may have to go in and check things out visually and manually. The report is that it could take any where from 2 to 6 hours, depending on what they have to do and how things go, but that taking a long time isn't necessarily indicative of level of complexity. For example, Dr. Joe may take a really long time to scope the bowel and decide that there is nothing to do there. He says that they will call us and let us know when they start the surgery and that they will call about every hour to let us know what they are doing and how things are going.
Jay and I are planning on going in early, early in the morning to get in a little holding time, then we will see where the day takes us. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers. Apparently, Saints Timothy, Charles Borromeo (go Flemingsburg!) and Wolfgang (go Markus!) are all in charge of the stomach and gastrointestinal issues. No promises on when, but we will update the blog as soon as we can.
(P.S. Allan is just fine. Only one child is allowed to act up at at time.)
Jay and I are planning on going in early, early in the morning to get in a little holding time, then we will see where the day takes us. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers. Apparently, Saints Timothy, Charles Borromeo (go Flemingsburg!) and Wolfgang (go Markus!) are all in charge of the stomach and gastrointestinal issues. No promises on when, but we will update the blog as soon as we can.
(P.S. Allan is just fine. Only one child is allowed to act up at at time.)
Monday July 17th
By all reports, the boys had good nights last night and pretty good mornings. Instead of going at lunch and coming back this afternoon, I am going to meet Aunt Evelyn at her doctor's office and then we are going over to UK to see the boys. At some point this afternoon I am supposed to meet with the surgeon. I will try to update the blog this evening and let you know what they are proposing to do and when.
Sunday, July 16, 2006
The weekend in review
The boys have been a whole lot of fun this weekend.
We had the boys measured for their 3 month birthdays. Allan has grown an inch and a half in length and is now 17 inches long. He hasn't quite caught up height-wise with his brother who grew to 18 inches. (Frankly, I'm not sure how accurate the measurements are because they are both so squirmy, but I think we just have to go with it.) I got to feed Allan his bottle at six tonight. For whatever reason he really likes to keep his tongue up on the roof of his mouth which makes it impossible to actually suck on a bottle and swallow. What this means is that you have to hold his head with one hand, pull down his chin with the other and pop the bottle in when and if he drops his tongue. And, yes, for those of you who are keeping track, that is one more hand than is standard issue. I would have to be like one of those Indian gods to manage. What I am going to do when there are 2 screaming at the same time is beyond me. Any way, I finally managed to coax him in to it and he did a great job polishing off his bottle.
Allan had had a big day. While Dad was feeding him his nurse (who shall remain nameless but whose name starts with "j" and rhymes with Bennifer) bumped over the water hooked up to his cannula which sent water up through it in to his nose. Ummmmm, let's see, first snorkeling lesson -- where is that page in the baby book? Dad came over to where I was to get the camera because "Allan is wide awake. He has his eyes open." Why, yes, yes, I'll just bet he does. Oh, well, no harm, no foul. Plus I think she spent all afternoon holding him and telling him how pretty and smart he is.
Griffith has been just a perfect little angel. We have been spoiling him like crazy. He absolutely loves it. He doesn't want to be bothered, but he does want to be held and if you will rub his head, so much the better. Most of the time he is pretty content to just lie there, but he will have extended alert spells where he talks to you. He sounds like a bear cub growling or, perhaps, like Donald Duck sputtering. And he is the nosiest child ever. Whatever way you are sitting, he wants to have his head facing the hallway.
Tomorrow may be another big day. With any luck Aunt Evelyn will get in to see the boys again and even get to hold them.
We should find out tomorrow afternoon when Griffith is scheduled for surgery and we will let you know as soon as we know. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers!
We had the boys measured for their 3 month birthdays. Allan has grown an inch and a half in length and is now 17 inches long. He hasn't quite caught up height-wise with his brother who grew to 18 inches. (Frankly, I'm not sure how accurate the measurements are because they are both so squirmy, but I think we just have to go with it.) I got to feed Allan his bottle at six tonight. For whatever reason he really likes to keep his tongue up on the roof of his mouth which makes it impossible to actually suck on a bottle and swallow. What this means is that you have to hold his head with one hand, pull down his chin with the other and pop the bottle in when and if he drops his tongue. And, yes, for those of you who are keeping track, that is one more hand than is standard issue. I would have to be like one of those Indian gods to manage. What I am going to do when there are 2 screaming at the same time is beyond me. Any way, I finally managed to coax him in to it and he did a great job polishing off his bottle.
Allan had had a big day. While Dad was feeding him his nurse (who shall remain nameless but whose name starts with "j" and rhymes with Bennifer) bumped over the water hooked up to his cannula which sent water up through it in to his nose. Ummmmm, let's see, first snorkeling lesson -- where is that page in the baby book? Dad came over to where I was to get the camera because "Allan is wide awake. He has his eyes open." Why, yes, yes, I'll just bet he does. Oh, well, no harm, no foul. Plus I think she spent all afternoon holding him and telling him how pretty and smart he is.
Griffith has been just a perfect little angel. We have been spoiling him like crazy. He absolutely loves it. He doesn't want to be bothered, but he does want to be held and if you will rub his head, so much the better. Most of the time he is pretty content to just lie there, but he will have extended alert spells where he talks to you. He sounds like a bear cub growling or, perhaps, like Donald Duck sputtering. And he is the nosiest child ever. Whatever way you are sitting, he wants to have his head facing the hallway.
Tomorrow may be another big day. With any luck Aunt Evelyn will get in to see the boys again and even get to hold them.
We should find out tomorrow afternoon when Griffith is scheduled for surgery and we will let you know as soon as we know. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers!
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