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.

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.)

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.

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!

So THAT's how that works!

Allan has had a very big weekend. Friday Alissa reported that at his 3 o'clock care he was sucking his pacifer like it was his job and that she thought he was ready to give the bottle a go. It was very exciting -- Dad was there, Alissa, and a couple of the other NICU nurses who were in the area. It was our baby's moment to shine. In a word, he choked. For real.
In 20/20 hindsight, it was kind of a cheap shot. After all, he's been sucking on pacifers for weeks and nothing has come out so there was really no reason for him to anticipate that this would be any different. No one told him this one was loaded. (In our defense, we really had no reason to suspect that he wouldn't be all over it. After all, Griffith nailed it in one try.)
Our boy got a mouth full of milk, his eyes bugged out, and he coughed and spit and hacked around. We all laughed (not Allan, he was too shocked to laugh.) Then we did it again. This time he simply kept spitting the milk out as fast as it came in to his mouth. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice shame on me, I suppose. After that he clapped his little mouth shut and would have no more of that nonsense. He was perfectly happy lying back and waiting for someone to fill his tummy with milk. This sucking and swallowing nonsense was an awful lot like work. Plus every one kept laughing at him and there is no one related to the Brannons who can stand that.
Jennifer tried him on it today (without an audience) and, after an initial rough start, he took to it and sucked the whole thing down. Clearly he is going to do what he wants to do when he wants to do it. The boy is not a performing seal, after all.
Griffith continues to do well. Now that they know what is wrong with his belly they have reduced his feeding and put him on an IV. That has helped with the gas, bloating and cramping. He is much more comfortable. Plus Mom, Dad and all of his nurses are spoiling him rotten in advance of his surgery. He couldn't be any happier. He just curls right up under your chin and racks out. Which is fine while he is 4.5 pounds. It is going to be much harder when he weighs 25 pounds and still wants to do that.

Friday afternoon -- July 14th

The boys have had a very good birthday. Allan has graduated to a real baby crib. He (of course) was very laid back about it. Ho-hum, no big deal. The child really has the most even temperament. He certainly doesn't get that from me. If he stays good, then he may get his first bottle this weekend. If he doesn't, then I am sure it won't bother him.....
Griffith was a real sweetheart at lunch. He gobbled down his bottle and let rip with a man-sized burp -- followed by a couple more. I think when the boys start having burping contests he is going to be the odds on favorite.
My very good boys brought me flowers for their birthday. Beautiful purple and pink carnations. I'm not sure where they got them. The closest garden that I know of is the UK president's house. If he's missing a few blossoms, I'm sure he won't mind.
Cheryl gave the boys more hot wheels for their collection. Whenever they bust out of that joint, they are going to be ready to dive in to the dirt spot under the maple tree where Dick and I used to play.
Fr. Tom stopped by for a visit and he was very surprised and impressed with how big the boys are now. Of course, he hadn't seen them since the day they were born and there is no doubt that they have improved considerably since then. Since Father was there, he blessed both of the boys and is going to offer a Mass for Griffith this weekend for a successful surgery and speedy recovery. I had him bless Allan, too, just for good measure. Can't hurt, right?

Ready for action

The boys' first tractors.

The hot wheels collection

The boys have a good start with their collection. They will be playing in the dirt under the maple tree before you know it.

The latest hot wheels

The boys' birthday presents from Cheryl -- Dairy Delivery for the farm boys. Just for the record the green one is Allan's and the burgundy one is Griffith's.

Flowers for Momma

My boys managed to sneak out and pick some flowers for me for their birthday. I think they may have raided Lee Todd's garden but I was afraid to ask.

Smiling Griffith

Griffith - 3 months

Sweet ol' Griffith racked out on his 3 month birthday.

ooo, ooo, Mr Kotter

My son, the handshark.

Allan

Allan in his big boy crib.

Allan in his big boy bed

Allan has graduated to a crib for his birthday.

Friday July 14th -- Happy Birthday !!!

The boys are 3 months old today! Very hard to believe. I don't know what they'll do to celebrate, but based on the toe jam I keep finding between Allan's toes, he gets around. I would take some of his booties in, but wearing froggie booties could possibly affect his game and might make it a little harder to pick up chicks. Still he is awfully cute and booties might be just fine amongst those in the NICU. Dad reports that he had a good night and slept well which is amazing because they've put some kid in the unit who just won't quit crying. At least we know that we aren't going to have to tiptoe around the house and keep things quiet when the boys come home.
Griffith also had a good night with LeeAnn the Canadian. Honestly, I don't know how I am ever going to teach the child to talk properly if he keeps being exposed to all of these jacked up accents! Anyway, he is still on the cannula but his oxygen requirement is very low (1/8 Liter) which is good. He and his brother both had their eye exams yesterday and, aside from not liking being messed with, they both did well. Their eyes seem to be developing the way that we hoped that they would. No word yet on whether they are going to be blue or brown, though. We'll keep you posted. Maybe one of each? (One child blue and one child brown, not each of them with, oh, nevermind. You know what I mean.)
I should be able to do a little better with the posts now. We have acquired a laptop and have gone wireless at the house. Michele got us all hooked up (thanks, Michele!) and the last two posts have been made from the coffee table. No big plans for the weekend other than getting in as much snuggle time as we can.

Thursday July 13th - Sorry for the delay

Sorry for the delayed post. We've had a couple of long days. The bad news is that Griffith isn't going home soon after all. Turns out that his big ol' belly ache is apparently the result of a stricture in his small intestine. It isn't totally blocked but there is an area where there is something holding up progress which is why he keeps "blowing up" his belly (he gets gassy and his stomach gets big and tight) and why it wasn't getting any better. They've done studies but can't really tell what it is or where it is exactly (we can put a man on the moon.....) The stricture is likely scarring, maybe from inflammation from all of the antibiotics he had to be on. In any event, that's what we've got. This is going to require surgery and sooner rather than later. Right now he is scheduled for Tuesday. The up sides are that this is a problem with a solution. And that this was figured out before we got home. And that he will get to stay in the NICU where the nurses and doctors already know (and love) him. They can't tell how long this will delay his homecoming but we hope not for too long. He feels much better right now. He's on IV fluids and limited milk and now that we aren't cramming a bunch of milk down him every 3 hours, his belly has gone down. He is loving the fact that he is getting all sorts of good lovin' from Mom and Dad and all his nurses. There will be no living with the child. Every time I put him down some one else picks him up. He sticks his little head right up under your chin and settles down peaceful as a lamb.
Allan is learning a hard lesson -- the one who is doing what he is supposed to do doesn't get the nearly as much attention. He's been doing very well on the nasal cannula although he was working a little hard at it tonight. He may end up back on the Cpap intermittently to give him a little bit of a rest. This breathing on your own all the time is hard work. He is up to a whopping 5 pounds 12 ounces. Some of that is likely water weight but there is no doubt that he is quite a big boy. He has clearly become the big brother in every sense of the words.
Keep the boys in your thoughts and prayers -- especially on Tuesday.

Big ol' belly ache - Wednesday July 12th

Poor Griffith isn't feeling well at all -- his belly is swollen and he is uncomfortable. He is supposed to have another upper GI study this morning to see what's going on. The first one that he had (a couple of weeks ago) showed an area of slow down but that apparently didn't cause concern in and of itself. Since he has continued to have problems, though, they are going to try to double-check it and see if there is something there that needs more attention.
Allan, by all reports, is just hanging out and making slow but steady progress. Happy as a little clam is our Allan. Honestly, he's as precious as he can be. Still, if Griffith wants to kick his little butt for having triggered all of these events, I can't really blame him either. I'm not saying Allan's morally culpable, but I can also see where Griffith has a few issues to settle with him! Still, Griffith is going to have to do a little growing if he is going to tussle with Allan.
I will try to give you the update on the tests later.

Tuesday afternoon - not much to report

Sweet little ol' Allan continues to do well with the alternating cannula/cpap. He is up to 9 hours on the cannula with 3 hours on the cpap.
Brother's belly swelled up again this morning. He is a gassy little fellow, for certain. He ate his lunch well though. The docs are going to decide whether to re-do the upper GI exam to see if they can see any thing new this time. If he doesn't get this sorted out in short order, though, he won't get home this week.

Tuesday July 11th

The boys are doing well. Allan seems to be tolerating the switching back-and-forth between the C-pap and the cannula. No word yet on when we'll try for the cannula exclusively, but within a couple of days, I would guess. It is just so nice to be able to see his face and it is so much easier to pick him up and hold him when he's on the cannula. He got a bath last night and didn't really like it one bit. He's not the one we expect tantrums from, but he has it in him. He settled down afterward though and he and Dad hung out. He's such a big-eyed little boy and he studies you so intently. He had lost a little weight -- he was about 5 pounds 4 ounces last night.
Griffith is once again on the countdown for home. No ETA yet, but maybe by the end of the week. We aren't mentioning it to him this time for fear that he will act up again. The medicine he is on for his belly seems to be helping. It seems that he is just a gassy little fellow which isn't all that unusual for preemies. (I am beginning to think that I could tell them that he had sprouted a horn between his eyes and they would say that is uncommon but not unknown in little ones.) He's eating well though and burps like a truck driver (but you have to work at it). He weighed in at 4 pounds 11.5 ounces last night. He is such a little cuddler. After he ate last night, he laid on my shoulder for about an hour. He was mostly awake, laying there smiling and looking up at me. I can see a lot of sitting in our future if he is going to be so darned sweet.

Monday afternoon - July 10th

All was well in the NICU this morning. Both boys are doing just fine. Griffith ate his lunch like a trooper. He is so terribly spoiled I'm not sure what is going to happen when he has to share with his brother. He wails away because he wants to be fed -- right now. And he wails away because he want to be held - right now. Not long on patience is ol' Griffith.
Allan, on the other hand, is completely laid back. He whines a little if he thinks you are treating him harshly, but mostly he just wants to sleep or sit quietly and look around.

False Alarm - Monday July 10th

Well, Griffith didn't make it home this weekend. His temperature was a little low on Friday and his belly was puffy with gas and he just wasn't quite himself. It was all quite a let-down, but we don't want him to come home until he is absolutely ready for it. Right now we don't have an ETA on it, but we hope to have him home by the end of the week. (We aren't sure that he didn't fake it just to stay with his brother. I'll have to remember this when he tells me that he is too sick to go to school.)
That said, the boys both had a good weekend. Sunday was their original due date so we celebrated it as a kind of birthday. They ate milk, of course, but managed to sneak out again (really the security there is the pits) and brought back petit fours with baby booties on them for Jennifer and Cheryl. Even at their tender age, the boys recognize the superiority of Magee's Bakery.
Griffith got a little present from Cheryl yesterday, a farm animals book that she read to him. He was quite interested in it, especially the "baa-ing" of the sheep which made him smile. I'm sure there is a joke to be made about Englishmen and sheep, but this is a family blog. Dad liked the book, too, and went right home and added some to the nursery menagerie. If one of the boys doesn't come home soon, there won't be an inch of the walls that isn't covered in something! Griffith has gained a little weight after stalling for a while. Last night he was 4 pounds 10 ounces.
Allan was a whopping 5 pounds 7 ounces last night. He is getting to be quite the biggie boy. They are switching him back and forth between the Cpap and the nasal cannula to try to build up his tolerance to being on the cannula full time. He did very well with it yesterday so we are hoping that this will be all it takes to get him over the hump. It is so nice to be able to see his pretty little face. I probably went overboard with the pictures of him, but I had to make up for the rash of Griffith photos from the past 10 days or so.

duck on a nest

chicken on the window sill

sheep

Tractor with round bales

Orchard

Cow herd

nursery cow herd

More nursery photos

Griffith on his almost birthday

Griffith on 7/9

Griffith sleeping the sleep of the innocent in his new hat (courtesy of Cheryl) and with his new book about farm animals.

Allan on 7/9

Allan on what should have been his birth date. He's wearing the Old MacDonald outfit that cousin Bailey Marie picked out for him.

Allan with his paci

Allan on the cannula

Allan - back on the cannula

Allan is back on the cannula part-time. He's wearing his new hat that Cheryl (Griffith's nurse) got for him.

Thursday afternoon postscript

There won't be a post in the morning, for sure. Jay and I have to do training for the oxygen equipment and monitor, infant CPR and shaken baby syndrome. And we have to meet the company who is setting up the oxygen at the house for that, too. We are doing that regardless of whether Griffith flies the coop tomorrow or not.
I'll update as soon as I can.

Thursday afternoon July 6th

Sweet baby Allan is doing well on the cannula. No one has told him that he's moved up. Don't want him to realize what he's doing and then stop. It is just so nice to be able to see his pretty little (not so little) face.
Griffith's temp was a little low at lunch so they are running a few more tests. They won't say he will come home tomorrow and they won't say he won't. Cagey of them, no? Any way we are keeping our fingers crossed that it was just the air conditioning and not something else that caused the dip. We'll keep you posted.

Allan on the cannula

Winston Churchill ????

No pictures, please!

Sweet baby Allan on the nasal cannula.

Griffith -- The Great Escape ?

Well, don't say it too loud, but it looks like Griffith is going to make the great escape tomorrow. Oh.My.Goodness. Jay's response to my phone call: What do we need to do? Well...ummm....dunno...YOUR part of WE needs to get the nursery painted so that the ME part of WE has a place to lay the baby down.... I think THAT is where we should start. But that's just me.
Cheryl did Griffith's hearing screening yesterday and she says that he hears very well, but she will make no representations about how well he listens. (I know, I know, good luck with that.) She confirmed that he is spoiled rotten and tried to blame it on the night nurses, but when I called back in yesterday afternoon she had been holding him for quite a while. So she has to share the blame. She needed to get her cuddling time in before he heads out in to the great wide world. I hope she was telling him to be very good when he comes home. He'd better watch out. I have her numbers so if he gets too out of hand she will come and jerk a knot in his tail!
Allan has been very good this week, too. He weighs nearly 5 pounds and 4 ounces. We are hoping that hearing about Griffith will make him step up to the plate. It may be working because he moved from the Cpap to the nasal cannula this morning. He seems to be doing well with that and we are hopeful that he won't be too far behind Griffith in getting to come home.
I am getting home computer and will be blogging from there, but it is going to be sporadic at best for a little while because, well, because we'll have one of our babies home and we'll be busy doing -- I don't know what exactly, baby stuff? Boiling water? Tearing rag strips?

Griffith in his onesie

Griffith in patriotic garb

Allan in his 4th of July onesie

Allan in patriotic garb

4th of July recap

The boys had a good Independence Day. They were very excited about the holiday although they understand that it really isn't good to mention it to Dad who won't admit it, but thinks of it as The Day It All Started to Go Wrong.
It was also the day that I realized that Griffith has somehow come to be spoiled, spoiled, spoiled and I'm not sure what we are going to do about it. First off, Caitlyn announced to Jay that Griffith's "happy time" seems to be from 3 to 5. That would be in the AM. Apparently that's when he is wide awake and very interested in being entertained. She finally went and got a mirror for him which was the source of much fascination. Vain little fellow. I went to nurse him and needed to do his care at lunch time. Rosa had him out and was talking to him and when I took him from her and laid him down to change his diaper he began to scream like he had been scalded. The instant, the very instant I picked him back up, he stopped. Completely. I laid him back down to have another go at it and he did it again. Yelling like a banshee, turning red, and shaking his little fists. I would like to think that we'll break him of this, but I'm pretty sure that he'll just break us. He pretty much had me trained yesterday and it only took two tries.
Allan was (as usual) a very good boy yesterday. He is down some on his pressure and seems to be tolerating that well. Maybe we'll make it on to the cannula soon. The doc said that he just needs to get more mature. Good luck with that. He is a boy, after all. Krista thought it was very funny that Allan had almost peed in Jennifer's ear, but this morning she didn't think it was quite so funny. Last night, while Krista was changing him, Allan gave an enormous explosive poo and actually shot it out of the bed and on to Krista. She said that he never woke up while he was doing it, either, which is pretty darned impressive. Frankly, I'm pretty sure he was awake through the whole thing. He was just playing possum and it worked like a charm.
I took some pictures of the boys in 4th of July onesies and will try to post them shortly.

Afternoon update - July 3rd

The boys were fine at lunchtime.
Griffith had a belly full of gas and kept tooting while he was eating, but it didn't seem to bother him much. He has a little hernia that they were checking out today and I swear every time someone said the word "testicles" he would grin. All boy, that Griffith.

Allan was down on his pressure again today and was pretty sleepy so I didn't stress him out. Yesterday his nurser (Jennifer) was changing him and left him free for a minute while she bent over to get something out of the drawer. A respiratory tech yelled at her and she jumped up just in time to avoid him peeing in her ear. I'm pretty sure he was trying to take his revenge on her for all of the poking and prodding. Daggone resp tech. Foiled again.

I will be out tomorrow for the holiday so no update until Wednesday!

Monday July 3rd

Happy 4th of July Eve to everyone ! The boys had a good weekend.
Allan weighed in at a whopping 5 pounds 1 ounce last night. Hard to believe that he has come so far in 3 months. He has the sweetest chubby legs, arms, cheeks -- everything, really. He is terribly sensitive about it, though. I mentioned last week that he had learned how to pout and make his lower lip quiver. Well, he continues to employ the technique with great accuracy. Alissa was talking about his cute chubby thighs and he had a meltdown. Yesterday, I was talking about his little chubby fingers and he did it again. So, when you meet him (finally), ixnay on the ubby-chay talk, okay? We don't want him to develop an eating disorder.
Griffith is doing his best to catch up in the weight category. He was 4 pounds 9 ounces last night. His big accomplishment this weekend was learning how to nurse. He will be alternating between formula-enhanced bottles and breast-feeding when he comes home, provided that the does well with it and so far his been a little rockstar. He's a very clever little boy. And awfully sweet. One of his nurses commented on how sweet and calm he's been since he is off of the vent. Yes, yes, he is. He kept trying to tell y'all that he didn't want to be on it and NO ONE was listening. That's very frustrating. Even when you are only 10 weeks old. Now that he has gotten his way, he's as jolly a little fellow as you would ever want to meet. Please make a note of it.
You can see from the pictures that Dad has been very busy this weekend. Eric (husband of my niece Jennifer) came over and helped begin painting the nursery. The farm is based on my family's homeplace and looks great, if you ask me. They have to put in the animals, but the base paint wasn't quite dry enough for that yesterday. Things are coming together -- about time, hunh?

Pond behind the door

birds over the door

Barn and silo

Jay has decided the silo needs to be bigger, but you get the idea.

sun in the corner

nursery -- home place

Nursery - House view

Friday afternoon June 30th

The boys both had eye exams today and both did fine. Well, sort of fine. Neither of them like it very well and they both apparently threw a fit. Allan got so mad that he threw up on them. Well done. I've been saying all along that he has hidden depths of fiestiness. It just takes the right provocation to get him going. Alissa said something that didn't suit him today when we were changing him and he stuck his lower lip out and cried. I swear it was just because she hurt his feelings. Poor little fellow. Looks like I've got a pouter. (Doesn't get that from MY side of the family. I'll take full responsibility for the temper, but not the pouting!)
Griffith did fine with his eye exam, too. He threw a temper tantrum, but every one expects that from him. Once they left him alone, he settled down and slept . He ate a good lunch, burped like a trucker and fell asleep snuggled up against my chin. It is going to be hard to put them down when they come home.

Friday - excellent boys.

We still have two very excellent boys.
Allan who is sweet and thoughtful in addition to being terribly pretty slipped out somehow and made bourbon brownies for his nurse Sarah. I'm going to have to keep an eye on them. Apparently after I leave at night the two of them hang out "after hours." I'm pretty sure she is setting a precedent that I can't keep up. He was up to 4 pounds 14 ounces last night. We very nearly have a five pound baby! He is doing well weaning and we hope to have him on the cannula by early next week.
Griffith, also sweet, thoughtful and incredibly pretty, is doing well with his bottle feeding. He needs a little encouragement every once in a while and sometimes he gets so sleepy that he can hardly finish, but he works really hard at it. And burps like a full-grown man. Honestly, people have stopped in the hall outside the nursery to look and see who that was. I'm pretty sure that they think it is me. I have to confess that I don't know what he weighed. Dad was doing that while I was holding Allan (to make up for the photo neglect). If Jay told me what he weighed, then I forgot it. His nurse Cheryl has been gone for two weeks but is back today. We're pretty sure that she is going to be very impressed with all of his accomplishments. His nurses are also doing a pretty good job of spoiling him. This twenty-four hour per day constant doting is going to be hard to duplicate.

On a roll ?

I don't want to cause a commotion, but the boys may be on a roll. They were both excellent this morning and at lunch.
Allan was wide awake and checking out the world this morning. He was asleep when I got there, but woke up when we started to change his diaper. He's done well with the decreased pressure so far. They are leaving him alone for today and will try to turn it down a little more tomorrow. Baby steps.
Griffith was a real sweetheart at lunch. His nurse, Amy, had him out this morning snuggling and he really liked it. Smiled all over himself apparently. Since getting off of the ventilator and the C-pap, he has been the most contented little fellow you can imagine. He still has his momma's frown lines between his eyes, but less reason to exhibit them. For now. I'm sure they'll reappear as soon as someone crosses him.

Very good boys

That's what we have a pair of. Both boys had a good night.
They increased Griffith's feeds and he seems to be tolerating that very well. He's picking up speed on the eating. Caitlyn reported that it only took him 15 minutes to finish his bottle last night. He is continuing to poo, too, so we are hoping that he has put his belly issues behind him. I was looking at a picture of Simon (Jay's brother) yesterday and I think Griffth may resemble him. When I mentioned it to Jay, he said that he had thought the same thing, but was afraid to mention it because he "wasn't sure that Simon was good-looking." (Sorry Simon.) As I pointed out to Jay, MY BABY is QUITE good-looking so you can take that for what it is worth.....
Allan has done well with the decreased pressure and I got to hold him for about an hour last night. He's the most cherubic little fellow you can imagine with tiny blonde eyelashes that curl up so sweetly. Other than (a very cute) Winston Churchill, I'm not sure who he resembles. Just Allan, I suppose.

Wednesday afternoon

Sorry for the late post -- I had to make a run to Babies R Us this morning. Did better this time. No hyperventilating about baby wipes.
The boys are doing very well today. Griffith seems to be getting over his stomach issues -- he's eating like a little rock star and pooing in a way that seems to satisfy the doctors. The threat of another barium enema apparently was all the encouragement he needed. We had a great time at lunch today and when I left he and Jenny were hanging out. Rumor has it that the two of them have been dancing in the NICU. No one on whether he's leading or not....
Allan is also having a very good day. They have gone down on his pressure and his O2 if he tolerates it, then they'll go down again in a few days and, with some luck, he may be on the nasal cannula next week. I sure so. I do like seeing his pretty little face.

Tuesday afternoon

New pictures. Yes, yes, I know, they are of Griffith again. I promise I will devote an entire photo shoot to Allan just as soon as we can see his pretty little face again.
The boys were doing fine at lunch today. Not much to report, really. Griffith is still having some stomach issues and we are all anxious to get that sorted out so that we can start the countdown to coming home again.

Griffith kicking up a fuss.

Griffith in green

This is Griffith in his outfit that Bailey got for him in Florida. The alligator is supposed to match his disposition, but you can see that he is smiling.

Griffith smiling

See, he does smile. If you leave him alone.

Tuesday morning -- June 27th

A pretty quiet night from both of the boys. Dad got to feed, change and hold Griffith ("got to" Isn't that funny? I wonder how long we'll think of it that way once they get home?). Griffith really seems to be getting the hang of the feeding thing. He slurps down his bottle like a pro. He even seems to enjoy being burped. He rears back his head and look around. Bright-eyed nosy thing. He got to wear his alligator sleeper that Bailey got for him (a match for his personality?), but we didn't get a good picture of it. We'll have to try again. It is all about the photo opportunities, after all.
Allan had a great night. Nurse Sarah was on and she spoils him rotten. I thought I was going to have to wrestle her to get to hold him last night. As I was leaving, she said she was going to get him back out when he woke up. When Jay went in this morning, she was sitting there with him. I am suspicious that she held him all night. Which is fine as long as she is planning on coming home with him. Allan is a very big boy -- he weighed 4 pounds 13 ounces last night. He is much bigger than Griffith now who was only 4 pounds 7 ounces. Of course, he was off his feed for a week. Now that his stomach is getting sorted out, I'm sure he'll catch up with his brother fast.

Monday afternoon -- June 26

The boys were great at lunch today. Allan had been a little sweetheart all morning. He woke up for a little while when I was changing him and we held hands for a few minutes. Tonight is my turn to hold him while Dad feeds Griffith so we'll get a little lovin' in later today.
Griffith had spent most of the morning sleeping. I got to feed him at lunch time and he did great. He did manage to spit up all over me (welcome to motherhood) but that was my fault (again, welcome to motherhood). I thought he was through burping because he had let a big one go, but there was more air down there and I must have pushed it out when I lowered him because he let a second grown-up sized burp fly and a stream of milk with it. We then had to discuss that that stuff didn't grow on trees and it was not to be spit out unnecessarily. We'll see if that helps.

Monday - June 26th - weekend review

Before any of you start with me, yes, I recognize that Sweet Little Allan did not get equal billing with the photos this time. (My secret is out -- I really do love Griffith more. I'm just glad I won't have to pretend.) In my defense, Allan really hasn't been doing anything -- he's been laying around, sleeping a whole lot and, apparently eating -- he was 4 pounds 11 ounces last night. Plus, the C-pap covers up his pretty little face so photos aren't nearly as much fun. They are working on weaning his pressure down with the C-pap and then he'll graduate to the cannula. At any rate, I will try to rectify the situation with Allan and his photos this week. Nurse Jennifer is back from vacation and I'm sure that she'll make sure that he gets plenty of attention.
Griffith seems to be feeling better. He started back with the bottle-feeding on Saturday (he hadn't eaten since the previous Saturday) and has been as happy as a little clam with that. He really has the hang of it. In his haste to suck it down before someone takes it away, he forgets to swallow sometimes, but no more so than any little one. He can burp like a fraternity boy, too. Dad has yet to get one of them out of him, but I think that's because he's afraid he's going to break him when he pats him on the back. When he's through eating, he lies there and grins like the Cheshire Cat. He's been very alert the past couple of days, too. He loves to be held up so that he can check out the scenery in the NICU. He's tired of lying in bed all the time. No ETA on him going home yet. I'm sure they'll give this eating stuff a few days to make sure that he's going to do it and gain weight.

Griffith and his paci

Pretty little Griffith

Griff in his toboggan

Allan on the C-pap

Griffith - bib photo

Griffith --Ready for dinner

Friday - June 23rd

There really isn't much to report this morning. And that's not a bad thing. Griffith seems to be getting over the mystery stomach bug. He's kicking up more of a fuss every day so things are getting back to normal. He twists, he turns, he squawls and kicks. I don't know how he manages, but he can pretty much turn himself over. Especially if he is mad. A good Brannon temper tantrum empowers a boy, I suppose. He has some cute new outfits from Aunt Evelyn and from Bailey Marie (a sleeper with an alligator on it to suit his disposition!). He's a huge fan of the pacifier and sucks on it so hard that he sounds like Maggie Simpson.
Allan continues his run of contented days and nights. He is still on the C-pap and doesn't seem to be having trouble adapting to it. I don't like it because it covers up his pretty little face, but, with any luck, he won't have to keep it on for too long. He is also spending a lot of time sleeping. Some of the nurses have said that means they are growing so we'll see. Allan is now the only boy on his ward. He has a harem of 4 baby girls. Life is so much easier for him than for Griffith!
I don't know if there will be a report this afternoon or not. I have to find something to wear to my niece's wedding tomorrow night. If all goes well, I'll be back in after seeing the boys at lunch. If not, then I will be scouring the mall for hours until I find something that won't shame the family name.

Thursday June 22nd Update

Tuesday night Allan weighed in at 2000 grams (4 pounds 4 ounces or so). Quite the accomplishment! To celebrate (and emulate his brother) he extubated himself yesterday morning. Guess he decided he really is a big boy now. Unlike his brother, he was quiet and calm about the whole thing and really hasn't fought being on the C-pap. He doesn't like it and gets a little cross-eyed trying to look at that thing on his nose, but, other than that, he seems to be doing fine with it. (Isn't that just the way? Griffith had to fight tooth and toenail to get off the vent and Allan just sails along -- lah-de-dah. No wonder Griffith has a messed up stomach. Biitterness will take its toll.) If all goes well, Allan will be on the Cpap for a few days and then, depending on his blood gases, will go to the nasal cannula. He gained a little more weight yesterday and weighed in at 4 pounds 6 ounces.
Griffith still isn't feeling well. His stomach still is upset and although he isn't as puny as he was Saturday night, he still isn't quite himself. They haven't come up with a good explanation. He has a UTI that they are treating with antibiotics and are giving him several other broad spectrum antibiotics trying to catch whatever else he may have. They are also doing a number of rude tests to see if they can hit upon something. He had a tiny baby barium enema yesteday and they are doing an upper GI study today. Since he is on IV's and not eating, he hasn't gained any weight and is still at 4 pounds 3 ounces. So he is now our little boy in every sense of the word. I keep him apprised of Allan's progress in the hopes of encouraging a little healthy competition.

No post tomorrow but don't worry

As noted in the blog yesterday, Momma realized this weekend that we are going to have boys home sooner rather than later. Soooo -- I'm not going to be in tomorrow. I'm going to buy cribs and mattresses and, God willing, baby wipes that will not kill my children. It could be a very harrowing day.
Anyway, I won't be in to the office so there won't be a post.

Griffith under the oxygen hood. Note the tape to keep the lid on. Also note that he figured out how to jam his pacifier up against the side of the hood so that it holds it in his mouth.

Griffith -- Father's Day

He has a bib identical to Allan's.

Allan - Father's Day The bib says, "I love my Daddy and my Daddy loves me."






Of course, on the back it says "... but I love my Mommy more!"

Dad feeding Griffith his first bottle.

Griffith's first bottle.

Tuesday June 20th - Holding Steady

My pretty boys had a good night last night.
Sweet Allan, finally fed up with all the attention going to Griffith, decided an ambush was in order. His nurse was sitting at the foot of his bed, charting, and I was changing his diaper. Despite having filled it, he apparently saved just enough in reserve so that when I lifted his legs to slide the clean diaper under him, he fired -- on the bed clothes, out of the bed and on to her chart. Without exaggeration, it was propelled a good 3 feet. He is gifted. Gifted, I tell you. And wily. He has done the explosive pooing before, but not for weeks. The pretty face hides a calculating mind. In other news, he continues to gain steadily -- 4 pounds 6 ounces. And that was after the poo.
Griffith isn't quite himself. He's still got the stomach crud, whatever it is it seems to be responding to some of the antibiotics, but he doesn't act as fiesty as usual. Still, he kept knocking part of the oxygen hood off yesterday so that the nurse had to tape the lid on it. And when they came to take his X-ray earlier this morning he tried to fight them off. He's trying to rally.
I am trying to figure out how to use the card reader to post some new photos, but have been defeated thus far. I'll try again later.

Ups and downs...

We had a big weekend. Up and down, but we are ending in a good place.
Griffith had his first bottle feeding on Saturday and he did great. He's such a clever boy. He drank 25 of 30 mls which is excellent. He slopped and slurped around, but generally knew exactly how to operate a bottle. He got a little worn out with all the work and some times he would forget that he had to swallow after he got a mouthful, but, other than those minor drawbacks, he gets a gold star. Cheryl started talking about his discharge and I suddenly panicked about not having a crib or diapers, etc. So Jay and I spent Saturday afternoon looking at cribs and such. While we were at Babies R Us I thought it would be advisable to purchase a few diapers, baby wipes, etc. Not a lot, just some so that I felt like I had made a start. That did not go so well. Decisions about spending a couple of hundred dollars on cribs, no problem. What baby wipes to purchase defeated me utterly. Over. Whelmed. Sensitive? Scented with calming lavender? Huggies ? Pampers? Apparently, I don't have enough sense to pick out baby wipes and they are going to send me home with two infants who are entirely dependent upon me for survival. What could they be thinking? At any rate, Lee and Jay came to the rescue and tossed some wipes in the cart and moved me along.
Despite having had such a good day, Griffith didn't have a good night. He picked up some bacteria and got sick to his stomach. He felt rotten Saturday night and had to go back on the vent Sunday morning. He didn't even fight with them so you know he was feeling puny. The good news is that the meds they are giving him must be working because he was getting back to fighting form last night -- tugging on his tubes and giving Cheryl the stink-eye because she had put him on the vent, put in a catheter and taken a bunch of blood. There's not much he can do about it now, but you can tell that he'll remember her. Caitlyn called early this morning to let us know that he had managed to extubate himself (again) this morning. He is currently under an oxygen hood and doing well. He was all bright-eyed when I was there this morning. He still isn't quite as fiesty as usual, but he's making a come back.
Allan continued his run of good behavior -- he's doing well with the weaning, putting on weight (4 pounds, 5 ounces). He even managed to make his dad a Father's Day card with his footprints -- or someone's footprints. They seem inordinately large to actually be my short cubby boy's prints, but it is the thought that counts. We get to snuggle tonight so we'll try to make up for all the attention that Griffith is getting.