Day 100 - 3/12/12

Day 100... Woooooooooohooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!

Granny and Momma taking Lilly out for her first walk in the neighborhood

We're a couple of happy parents!!! We're packed up and taking the kids home! Lilly came back to the NICU to help her brother pack up all his stuff and move him home.

She's a super model.

Granny giving Davis the tour of his home.

Mommy hanging out with Tank (the white dog), Betsy (the cow that is now the ottoman) and the kids on the floor.

They were so excited to go home, they could hardly keep their eyes open...

Today was our last day in the NICU (which ended up being the same as Lindsey's original due date)!!! Davis was discharged around 1:00PM and we headed home. We'll have tons of follow up appointments with the developmental therapy clinics and other doctors, but at least we have our babies home.

Granny is here to help us with the kiddos for the next week. We think the kids have their nights and days mixed up, so it'll be great having her here to help take a few night shifts. Hopefully we can get the kids on the right schedule before daddy goes back to work...

Thanks so much to everyone for keeping us and our little ones in your thoughts in prayers. We are truly grateful for the support we've received... it's something we will never forget. Thanks so much!

Day 97 - 3/9/12

Day 97...

Davis is still in the NICU. He had an episode on Wednesday and that bought him additional days in the lock up. He's scheduled to come home on Monday, assuming he doesn't have any more episodes between now and then. Davis will have an apnea monitor when he gets home. If he decides to take a break from breathing, a very loud and high pitched alarm will go off. If that doesn't scare the snot out of him and make him breathe, at least Lindsey and I will hear it and we can go in and poke him. Other than that, he's doing well. He's still eating well and steadily gaining weight. He weighed 7 pounds and 1 ounce last night! He's getting big (and heavy)!

Lilly is doing well at home. A whole lot of eating and sleeping (Lilly's sleeping... not so much sleep for mom and dad). Not sure how much she weighs... but she's looking bigger.

Day 94 - 3/6/12

Day 94...

Sorry for not posting any updates over the last few days... we've been kind of busy. Lilly came home yesterday and she has been doing great! She's still on oxygen, but hopefully not for long. She had her first pediatric appointment today and everything looks good!

Davis should get to come home on Friday. He's been doing well in the NICU, but I think he misses his sister. They moved Davis back to a single slot in the general population area of the NICU... He had to give up the private isolation suite because he sister went home. Davis had another eye exam today. His eyes have matured nicely and still no sign of ROP! Woohoo! Lilly gets her follow up eye exam on Friday.

Aunt Diane from Washington D.C. came to visit over the weekend. It was great having her here to help us get everything ready to bring Lilly home!

Davis and Aunt Diane hanging out

Lilly looking up at her Momma... Mom looking at the camera.

Weigh in... Davis is up to 6 pounds and 9 ounces! Lilly passed the 6 pound mark on Sunday night, and she is now at 6 pounds and 3 ounces!

Day 89 - 3/1/12

Day 89...


Today was a great day for Lilly... not so much for Davis. The NICU is planning on discharging Lilly on Monday, woooooohooooo!!! She will have to go home on oxygen, but that should only be for a few weeks. 


They were planning on sending Davis home the same day, but he keeps having an episode or two every day. They also decided to put him on blood pressure meds. They say this is pretty common for preemies. He will probably need them for a couple months, but should not be a forever thing. Since it takes the blood pressure meds a few days to kick in, and since they are also a diuretic, they will need to keep Davis until everything balances out and they make sure he is not losing a ton of electrolytes. He also needs to stop having episodes when he eats... At the earliest, it will be late next week before he could come home. It's gonna be tough having one kid in and one kid out of the NICU. I guess Lindsey and I will have to alternate days to visit Davis separately.


Weigh in time... Davis lost an ounce, probably due to his new meds. He is now 6 pounds and 4 ounces. Lilly stayed the same as yesterday at 5 pounds and 10 ounces.

Day 88 - 2/29/12

Day 88... Happy Leap Day!


Lilly and Davis's head scans came back today and everything is normal! They are both doing well. Lilly is eating all of her bottles and Davis is still doing well without any oxygen.


Weigh in... Davis is up to 6 pounds and 5 ounces. Lilly is now 5 pounds and 10 ounces.

Day 87 - 2/28/12

Day 87...


Another good day in the NICU. Lilly is still eating all her bottles! Davis is still doing great without his nasal cannulas. Both kids had head ultrasounds today. This is a routine exit exam for the NICU. We should get the results back tomorrow or Thursday. Our time in the NICUis hopefully coming to an end soon!


Weigh in... Davis gained an ounce, making him 6 pounds and 2 ounces. Lilly gained 3 ounces, making her 5 pounds and 8 ounces!

Day 86 - 2/27/12

Day 86...

We planned on taking some photos while they were awake and active, but we wanted to feed them first. They both passed out instantly after dinner... so, more pictures of the kids asleep.

Lilly gulped down her full bottle in 8 minutes, then went straight to bed!

Check out Davis without his nasal cannulas, he's such a big boy now!

Today was another good day for the kids! Davis has been off his nasal cannulas for over a day and is doing well! hopefully we are done with them for good. Lilly has been doing great with her feedings. She ate all her meals this afternoon and night from a bottle. Hopefully she is ready for the feeding tube to be pulled!

Weigh in time... Davis broke the 6 pound milestone!!! He now weighs 6 pounds and 1 ounce! Lilly gained another ounce and is now 5 pounds and 5 ounces! Woohoo!

Day 85 - 2/26/12

Day 85...

Both kids are doing well! We gave Davis a bath today for our first time (not his first time...). Not sure he really liked it too much. They are both are doing well with their feedings. Davis is still fighting his reflux issues, but it seems to be getting slightly better. Lilly is taking most of her feedings from a bottle. She stopped taking the diuretics today. They will check her over the next few days to see if they think she needs to go back on them again.

Today was the full measurement day. They both are still the same height and have the same size heads as last week. Davis gained an ounce from yesterday, so he is 5 pounds and 15 ounces! I think tomorrow he is going to hit the 6 pound mark! Lilly gained an ounce and is now at 5 pounds and 4 ounces!

Day 84 - 2/25/12

Day 84...

Still no big changes. Lilly is still taking the Lasix (a diuretic) and she seems to be responding to them well. She is much more alert and is gulping down her bottles! She still takes a few feedings each day through her feeding tube, but is slowly taking more and more bottles.

Weigh in... Davis gained 2 ounces, making him 5 pounds and 14 ounces, woohoo! Lilly is still at 5 pounds and 3 ounces.

Day 83 - 2/24/12

Day 83...

No big changes today...

Davis is still at 5 pounds and 12 ounces. Lilly lost another ounce, making her 5 pounds and 3 ounces.

Day 82 - 2/23/12

Day 82...

They started Lilly back on diuretics today... they think she is retaining some water. They think the diuretics will help her get rid of the water and help give her more energy to eat from her bottles more often.

Davis didn't gain any weight, so he's still at 5 pounds and 12 ounces. Lilly dropped 3 ounces today due to the diuretics. She is now 5 pounds and 4 ounces.

Day 81 - 2/22/12

Day 81...

Another day of eating and growing. The kids had their eye exam check up today. Their eyes are still developing well. Other than that, not much happening.

Today was a big weight gain day for both Lilly and Davis! Lilly gained 2 ounces, bringing her to 5 pounds and 7 ounces. Davis gained 3 ounces, making him 5 pounds and 12 ounces!

Day 80 - 2/21/12

Day 80...

Another good day in the NICU. The kids are doing well... just eating and growing.

Weigh in... Davis's weight stayed the same at 5 pounds and 9 ounces. Lilly gained another ounce, making her 5 pounds and 5 ounces.

Day 79 - 2/20/12

Day 79...

Davis hanging out in his crib.

Mom holding Lilly and Davis after dinner... they are both passed out!

Lilly relaxing.

Another good day today! Both kids are eating well and growing big and strong. No big changes today. We brought in our own bottles to make sure the kids like them when we eventually get to bring them home. They both love the new bottles! Davis was chugging his food today! His average feedings were close to 35 ml per meal yesterday... today he pounded his bottles eating 52 ml, 60 ml and 50 ml at his last 3 feedings. Lilly also ate from her bottle 3 times today. We're gradually increasing her bottle feeds so that we don't wear her down again.

Davis gained 2 ounces, making him 5 pounds and 9 ounces! Lilly gained an ounce, making her 5 pounds and 4 ounces!

Day 78 - 2/19/12

Day 78...

Today was another pretty good day for the kids. They are still handling everything fairly well... reflux is still an ongoing issue for Davis.

Today was measurement day, so here's the run down:

Davis is now just under 18 inches long. His melon is 34.5 cm in circumference. His weight didn't change, so still at 5 pounds and 7 ounces.

Lilly is just over 17 inches long. Her head is 32 cm. She gained an ounce, making her 5 pounds and 3 ounces (Look out Davis, she's catching up!!!).

Day 77 - 2/18/12

Day 77...

Everything is going well with the kiddos. No big changes.

Weigh in... Davis gained 2 ounces and is at 5 pounds and 7 ounces. Lilly also gained 2 ounces, making her 5 pounds and 2 ounces.

Day 76 - 2/17/12

Day 76...

Woohoo, Lilly hit 5 pounds today! Lilly is 5 pounds and 0.4 ounces! Davis is still at 5 pounds and 5 ounces.

Day 75 - 2/16/12

Day 75...

Three steps forward, then two steps back... Lilly had her feeding tube reinserted today. She was wearing herself out trying to eat from a bottle for every feeding. By 3:00AM, she wouldn't even wake up to eat. So, I guess they'll take it slower and alternate bottle feedings and feeding tube.

Davis is doing well. He is still taking all his feedings from his bottle. He is also still struggling with his reflux. There's nothing they can do for the reflux... hopefully it gets better soon!

Weigh in... Davis lost an ounce, making him 5 pounds and 5 ounces. Lilly gained an ounce, making her 4 pounds and 15 ounces. Maybe tomorrow will be the day she passes 5 pounds!

Day 74 - 2/15/12

Day 74...

Today was a pretty good day for the kids. Davis didn't last long laying flat... the reflux was too much, so they put him back on an incline. Lilly is doing pretty good, but she is very tired. Making her drink from a bottle for every feeding is making her exhausted. We tried to bottle feed her at 9:00PM, but she wouldn't wake up. She managed to take a couple sips in her sleep, but no where near the amount she is supposed to be eating. They may have to put her feeding tube back in tomorrow if she continues to not wake up for feedings.

Weigh in... Davis gained 2 ounces, so he is now 5 pounds and 6 ounces! Lilly stayed at 4 pounds and 14 ounces! I think tomorrow will be her day to pass 5 pounds... assuming she wakes up to eat.

Day 73 - 2/14/12

Day 73 ... Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Lilly strutting in her tutu!

Davis adjusting his nasal cannulas before his big photo session with his sister.

Davis getting mad because he wants to be on the left side... Lilly just letting her brother complain (and taking a cheap shot and poking his ear when he's not looking).

Both kids posing for the camera! They say, "Happy Valentine's Day!"

Davis said "enough is enough, where's my bottle!"

Our little angel needs her beauty rest.

Davis finally got his bottle, then went straight into a food coma... he's gonna be just like his dad.

Today was big day for the kids! They pulled Lilly and Davis's feeding tubes! That means they will get all their meals from bottles for now on (at least that's the plan...)! They also lowered both of their beds. They were sleeping on inclines to help with their reflux, but they want them to get used to being flat on their backs for when they get to go home.

They reduced Davis's airflow on his nasal cannulas and they're allowing Lilly to be without hers when she's not eating. Hopefully it won't be long before they are both off and breathing without any support!

Finally, both kids got their 3rd vaccination today. Both kids also has their hearing tests today. Their ears are working fine!

It won't be long now before we get to bring them home, maybe within the next couple of weeks!!!

Weigh in time... Lilly gained 2 ounces and is now at 4 pounds and 14 ounces!!! Davis lost an ounce, making him 5 pounds and 4 ounces... he's waiting for his little sis to catch up, what a gentleman!

Day 72 - 2/13/12

Day 72...

Ok, my blogging break is over... I'll go back to updating everyday. We'll also add more photos! Lilly and Davis have special Valentine's day outfits, we'll make sure we post their pictures and share with everyone tomorrow.

Both kids are doing well. Both kids got 2 of their vaccinations last Sunday. They are both going to get their 3rd vaccination tomorrow. Other than that, no big changes... still just cruising along.

Today was a huge milestone for Davis's weigh in! Davis is now 5 pounds and 5 ounces... same as Dad's birth weight! Mom was over 10 pounds when she was born, so we have a ways to go before we hit that milestone. Lilly is now 4 pounds and 12 ounces... not long before both are over the 5 pound mark!!!

Day 71 - 2/12/12

Day 71...

The kids had a pretty good weekend. They are both taking 3-4 bottles a day, with the rest of their feedings still going through their feeding tubes. Davis is still working through reflux issues, so he has episodes after some of his meals. Not really any big changes... just growing and getting stronger.

Weights... Davis broke the 5 pound mark on Saturday! Today he weighs 5 pounds and 3 ounces! Lilly is up to 4 pounds and 10 ounces!

Day 66 - 2/7/12

Day 66...

Today was a great day!!!

Lilly had a follow up echo cardiogram yesterday to check out her PDA and the slight distress on her heart. The results cam back today and the PDA has "resolved itself"! Woohoo, no surgery for her!!! They also said her heart looked normal, so the distress has gone away. They also took Lilly off a bunch of meds... the Lasix (the diuretic), a potassium supplement they were giving her because she was on Lasix and the caffeine she's been on since forever. Finally, they're allowed to start weening her off the nasal cannulas! We can't wait, that'll mean no more breathing tubes!

Davis earned himself a kidney sonogram because of the UTI he had a couple weeks ago. Something about a UTI could indicate a potential bladder/kidney issue... The results from the sonogram came back yesterday and everything looks good! They are also weening Davis off his nasal cannulas, but at a slower rate. He's having some reflux issues when he eats, so they don't want to take away his extra air too fast.

Both kids are handling their bottle feedings great! They still get fed through their feeding tubes on a regular basis, but they are slowly taking more and more bottles!

Weigh in... Davis weighs 4 pounds and 12 ounces! Lilly weighs 4 pounds and 2 ounces! They both were just over 16 inches long on Sunday when there were last measured!

Day 64 - 2/5/12

Day 64...


Sorry, it's been a couple of days since we have updated the blog. Everything is going well... we've just been a little busy.


Davis and Lilly are both doing well! Both babies are doing great with their bottle feedings and they are slowly increasing the number of times they eat from a bottle each day. They cut Lilly off from her caffeine on Sunday and she seems to be handling that fine.


Both babies have gained a lot of weight since the last blog! Lilly hit the 4 pound mark last nigt, coming in a 4 pounds and 0 ounces. Davis hit 4 pounds and 8 ounces!

Day 60 - 2/1/12

Day 60...

Davis and Lilly were great with their bottles!!! I got to feed Davis and Lindsey fed Lilly. We are allowed to bottle feed for 20 minutes, then the leftovers get pushed through their feeding tubes. Davis ate over half his bottle in 12 minutes... then he passed out. I guess eating from a bottle is hard work. Davis was great with pacing himself during his feeding (he remembered to breathe between bites...). Lilly ate just under half her food over 10 minutes. She also did great with pacing herself.

Davis and Lilly got to try their second bottle at their 3:00 AM feeding. They bottle took their entire bottles within the allotted time!!!

Lilly also had her eye check up yesterday. The doctors were very impressed with the amount of development with her eyes over the week. She is now rated a 2 out of 3 in eye maturity (same as Davis)! She still shows no sign of eye disease.

Weigh in... Davis gained an ounce and weighs 4 pounds and 3 ounces. Lilly gained 2 ounces and now weighs 3 pounds and 10 ounces!

1st Bottle...whoohoo!!

Burp time

Eating is hard work

My turn now.....Lilly's first bottle

Pouty lips

Well that was fun....I wonder what yummy food they'll give us tomorrow?

Day 59 - 1/31/12

Day 59...

Another great day in the NICU. Both kids are doing well!

We get to try bottle feeding Davis and Lilly tomorrow! We're pretty excited and hopeful that the kids handle their bottles well.

Lilly also gets her eye checkup tomorrow. Hopefully the eye exam does not upset her enough that we can't try a bottle with her...

Weigh in... Davis gained an ounce, now weighing 4 pounds and 2 ounces. Lilly stayed the same at 3 pounds and 8 ounces.

Day 58 - 1/30/12

Day 58...

Lilly and Davis hanging out together! (Davis is the one in blue and Lilly in pink... just in case you couldn't tell)

Today was a great day! They moved Davis back to the regular flow nasal cannulas. They also took Lilly off the CPAP and moved her to the high flow nasal cannulas! Both kids are handling the changes well! It's great to get to see the kids without masks on their face!

Lindsey also got to hold both kids at the same time today! This is the first time we've done this and the kids seemed to like being next to each other!

Davis also passed the 4 pound milestone today! He weighs 4 pounds and 1 ounce. Lilly is up to 3 pounds and 8 ounces!

Day 57 - 1/29/12

Day 57...

Another good day at the NICU. However, we are disappointed that they did not make any of the moves with Davis and Lilly today. All the RNs and NPs who work with Lilly and Davis think they are ready for less breathing support. However, we have to make sure the neonatologist on duty that day is ok with it, too. The regular neonatologist (one that is more familiar with our kids) is back tomorrow... hopefully she will allow the nurses to make the changes.

Weigh in time... Davis weighs 3 pounds and 15.3 ounces!!! Less than an ounce from hitting the 4 pound milestone!!! Lilly lost an pounce and weighs 3 pounds and 6 ounces.

Day 56 - 1/28/12

Day 56...

Both kids are doing well today. They are talking about moving Davis back to the normal flow nasal cannulas tomorrow. They are also thinking about moving Lilly from the CPAP to the high flow machine.

Both kids gained weight today! Davis is now at 3 pounds and 14 ounces! Lilly is at 3 pounds and 7 ounces!

Day 55 - 1/27/12

Day 55...

Some pictures from 1/26/12:

Mom talking to Davis.

Mom looking at Lilly.

Lilly getting a break from the CPAP and feeding tube.

Davis's CRP results dropped today... from 19 to 14. However, we found out Davis has a urinary tract infection.... boooooooo! Apparently these are pretty common for little preemie boys. They started him on antibiotics, hopefully knocking it out quickly. They also had to move Davis to a high flow machine. Between the infection and 5 attempts to get an IV in him, his CO2 levels increased and they wanted to give him more breathing support. Thankfully, they finally did get a good IV in his foot... we were worried they may actually start looking at his face for a vein.

Lilly is doing well today. They lowered her CPAP support and she is handling it great!

Weigh in... Davis gained 2 ounces! He is now 3 pounds and 12 ounces. Lilly gained an ounce and she is now weighing 3 pounds and 5 ounces!

Day 54 - 1/26/12

Day 54...

Davis was struggling a bit today. He had several episodes throughout the night and in the morning. The nurses are not sure what is causing this and decided to run him through all the infection tests. Initial results are indicating that he does not have an infection, but we will need to wait to see if anything grows in the blood or urine cultures before we know for sure. His CRP test (a test that looks for a certain protein that increases if there is any inflammation, which could be caused by an infection) showed levels that were borderline concerning (he came back with a 19... a value of 20 or higher causes concern). So, he'll get another CRP test tomorrow morning.

Davis has gone through a ton of changes in the last few days and that could be the cause of the increase in his episodes. Let's see... they cut off his caffeine (if he's anything like me, that alone would cause full body shutdown), dilated his eyes for an exam (and he never got the trendy sunglasses they usually give out after eye exams...), switched him from nasal cannulas to breathing in a bubble for a day to give his nose a break, ran a catheter in him (not just once, but twice!) to get urine for a culture, pricked his foot to get blood for multiple tests and to top it off, his mom is making him listen to a Jewel lullaby CD on repeat... I would be having episodes if I had to endure all of that too!

Mommy got to hold both kids today (want to make sure I'm fully recovered from my cold before I hold the kids...). They both did well and seemed to have a great time! Both kids are starting to smile on occasion, so our visits with the kids include lots of random noises, movements and gestures to see if we can get them to crack another smile. A casual observer (correction... any observer) would probably think we are very strange people.

Weigh in time... today was Lilly's day for big gain. She gained 2 ounces, making her 3 pounds and 4 ounces! Davis lost an ounce, so he now weighs 3 pounds and 10 ounces.

Day 53 - 1/25/12

Day 53...

Today was a big day for the kids. They had their first eye exam and both came back with good results. Premature kids have a high risk for an eye disease called ROP (can be caused by high oxygen levels given to preemies to help them breathe). During the eye exam they look for eye disease (referred to as stage... scale of 0-5, the lower the better) and they also look at the eye maturity (aka the zone... scale of 1-3, the higher the better). Lilly's eye exam came back as zone 1 and stage 0. Her eyes will mature as she gets older... but it's great that she does not have any eye disease! She will get another check up next week. Davis's eye exam was a little better than Lilly's. He is zone 2 and stage 0, so more mature eyes and no sign of disease! He will get his next checkup in 2 weeks.

Both kiddos also had a great day of weight gain. Davis gained 2 ounces and is now 3 pounds and 11 ounces! He has more than doubled his weight since he was born! Lilly gained an ounce and is now weighing 3 pounds and 2 ounces.

Day 52 - 1/24/12

Day 52...

Dad is still sick, so he did not go to the NICU today. Mom was feeling better, so she went in to visit with the kiddos.

Lilly and Davis are doing well. No big changes for Lilly today. Just letting her grow. They stopped Davis's caffeine today. They think he is big and strong enough to not need the caffeine anymore... another step in the right direction! Other than that, no other changes.

Weigh in time... Both kids gained weight again. Davis gained 3 ounces, making him 3 pounds and 9 ounces. 1 more ounce and he will have doubled his body weight! Lilly gained an ounce, now weighing 3 pounds and 1 ounce.

Day 51 - 1/23/12

Day 51...

Lilly hit the 3 pound milestone today, woohoo!!!

Lindsey and I are still sick, so another day of not visiting our kids :( However, we did talk to the nurses and everything is going well. No big changes.

Lilly gained an ounce and is now 3 pounds. Davis is holding steady at 3 pounds and 6 ounces. Next big milestone... the 4 pound mark for both kids.

Day 50 - 1/22/12

Day 50... half way through our NICU journey. We've driven well over 3,000 miles traveling to and from the hospital and spent well over 200 hours sweating in a hot NICU to hang out with our kids, and we're finally half way done! Only 50 days to go, then we get to bring our 2 little angles home!

Lindsey must have sneezed on me when I wasn't paying attention... now we are both sick :( So, we will not be visiting the NICU today. However, we did call several times and got a few updates. Lilly had her blood count and blood gases tested today. Her blood count is 25, which would usually require a blood transfusion. However, her retic (pretty sure I'm spelling that wrong...) is high meaning her body is making a lot of her own red blood cells. The nurses will wait and see how Lilly is tomorrow before they decide if they want to give her a transfusion.

Davis is doing well. Just hanging out, growing and getting stronger.

Weigh in time... Davis gained another ounce, woohoo!!! He is now 3 pounds and 6 ounces! Lilly also gained an ounce, bringing her to 2 pounds and 15 ounces! Hopefully tomorrow is the day I can say both kids are over 3 pounds! Today was also measurement day. Both kids are now 15.25 inches long!

Day 49 - 1/21/12

Day 49...

Today was another good day. Both kids are doing well. Mom still isn't feeling well, so she stayed home today and dad went to check on the kids. Hopefully she gets over her cold soon!

Weigh in... Davis gained another ounce, now weighing 3 pounds and 5 ounces. Lilly is holding steady at 2 pounds and 14 ounces.

Day 48 - 1/20/12

Day 48...

Lilly holding her pacifier.

Davis without his CPAP! He sure is a cute little guy!

Today was a huge day for both kids. They decided to take Davis off the CPAP and go straight to normal nasal cannulas (not sure I spelled that right...). They decided to skip the high flow machine, which is usually the next step down. He is handling it great... he's our big boy! They also tried to shorten the feed time for Davis. They wanted to give his feeds over an hour, instead of 2 hours. He didn't like that so much and was having reflux. This was causing him to have episodes during his feedings, so they decided to move him back to 2 hour feedings.

Lilly moved to a normal CPAP today. She is doing great! They will keep her on CPAP for a couple weeks and slowly reduce the pressure. Then they will try the high flow machine with her. Babies can't bottle feed while on CPAP, so she will probably have to wait a week or 2 after Davis to start trying to bottle feed.

Weigh in... Lilly is back up to 2 pounds and 14 ounces and Davis stayed at 3 pounds and 4 ounces.

Day 47 - 1/19/12

Day 47...

Lilly and Davis's cribs... no more incubators!

Dad trying to wake Davis up...

Dad messing with Lilly... just trying to wake her up too.

Lilly asking dad, "Why can't you just let us sleep???"

The kids are doing great today. They turned Lilly's CPAP down to a lower bi-phasic setting, with hopes to take her back to normal CPAP tomorrow. They finally found a crib for Lilly, so she got to move into the same style bed as her brother. Davis is still hanging out on his CPAP and doing well with it.

Lindsey has a cold, so she couldn't hold the kiddos today. That meant that dad got to hold both... and he loved it!

Weigh in... Davis gained 2 ounces today!!! He is now 3 pounds and 4 ounces! Lilly lost an ounce, so she is at 2 pounds and 13 ounces.

Day 46 - 1/18/12

Day 46... Today was a pretty good day. We met with the neonatologist to get the results of Lilly's echocardiogram. Everything looked the same... same levels of distress in the heart, she still has a large PDA and her heart is functioning as it should be (not impacted by the distress...). So, she does not need surgery in the near future, but may need surgery eventually. She will get another echocardigram in 2 weeks. The plan is to keep monitoring and hold off surgery as long as possible, if it is eventually needed. Our hope is that the PDA eventually closes and everything is ok without surgery. She is still on Lasix to help minimize the amount of fluid her heart has to pump. They are slowly turning down Lilly's CPAP support. Hopefully she will be off the bi-phasic CPAP and on the straight CPAP by tomorrow.

Davis is still doing well. They started giving him his feeds over 2 hours, as opposed to the continuous pump he has been on (he gets fed every 3 hours... of which 2 are used to slowly pump the food into his belly). They will slowly shorten the time Davis gets his food to get him used to eating from a bottle. We should be able to start bottle feeding him in a week and a half. They are also talking about taking Davis off the CPAP soon and moving him to the high flow machine (small tubes blowing air in to his nostrils).

Weigh in... Davis gained an ounce, so he is back to 3 pounds and 2 ounces. Lilly gained 2 ounces, so she is at 2 pounds and 14 ounces.

Day 45 - 1/17/12

Day 45...

Today was another good day. Lilly and Davis are both doing well. Lilly had her echocardiogram today. We won't get the results until tomorrow...

They moved Davis to a crib today! They would have moved Lilly to a crib, but they ran out... as soon as one becomes available, they will move her to one too! It's great to see our little ones starting to look like normal kids.

Weigh in... Davis lost an ounce and now weighs 3 pounds and 1 ounce. Lilly stayed the same at 2 pounds and 12 ounces.

Day 44 - 1/16/12

Day 44...

Today was a huge day for the kids! They opened the top of both of their incubators. They both are doing well maintaining their body temperature, so they don't need the extra heat from the incubators. If they do ok over the next several days, they will move them to open beds!

There are 3 requirements that each kid needs to achieve before they are allowed to go home (contrary to most peoples beliefs, weight is not a requirement). The first, maintain your body temp. Check. The second, you have to be able to feed from a bottle without drowning yourself or forgetting to breathe. We get to start working on that in 2 weeks. The third, you have to be able to breathe without any assistance (or very minimal assistance). We are working on that and hopefully are well on our way of meeting that requirement. So, as of today, 1 down and 2 to go!

Both kids were also seen by the nutritionist today and both are getting changes to their feedings. Last week, Davis was getting 6.5 ml of 24 calorie per ounce food. Throughout the week they increased his food to 26 calorie per ounce and have been slowly increasing the volume. Today they moved him to 9.1 ml per hour! Lilly is still going to get 25 ml every 3 hours (she gets her feedings over an hour, as opposed to continuous like Davis), but she is going up to 26 calories per ounce (thank goodness... maybe she will start to gain weight like her brother did this week!).

Lilly is scheduled to get an echo cardiogram tomorrow. They want to check out her heart and see if her left side looks any more distressed than the last test. They will also look at her PDA to see of anything needs to be done and reevaluate her need for Lasix (the diuretic... another reason she is not gaining weight as fast). We most likely will not get the results until Wednesday... gonna be a long couple of days.

Weigh in time... Davis gained 2 ounces and is now up to 3 pounds and 2 ounces! He's getting so big! Lilly gained an ounce and is now up to 2 pounds and 12 ounces. Hopefully with the increase in calories she will be able to catch up to her big brother!

Day 43 - 1/15/12

Day 43...

No big changes today. Lilly and Davis are both doing ok.

Weigh in... Davis is back to 3 pounds and Lilly is still 2 pounds and 11 ounces.

Day 42 - 1/14/12

Day 42...

Some photos from 1/9/12:

Davis peeking from around his CPAP mask.

Lilly getting a break from her CPAP mask!

Dad holding Lilly. He is also such a fashionista... notice the trendy plastic cloths.

Mom holding Davis... Roll Tide!

Lilly is still doing ok. Removing the plug yesterday seemed to help, but there still seems to be something causing her to not breathe as well. She is on low support and doing fine, but there are some indications that she is not getting the best flow in her lungs and her CO2 gases are a little high (most likely a floppy airway or something like that). The plan is to let her rest and get stronger and hopefully she gets through whatever is causing the issue.

Davis is still holding strong. He is still on light support and is happy with it.

They have both of their beds turned down to low temperature settings, which means both kids are doing a good job of maintaining their own body temp. If they keep this up, they will pop the tops on their tanks within the next few days to see how they handle it. If they handle it well, then they get to graduate to cribs!

Weigh in time... both kids lost an ounce today. Davis is at 2 pounds and 15 ounces and Lilly is at 2 pounds and 11 ounces. Hopefully we have big weight gains tomorrow!

Day 41 - 1/13/12

Day 41...

Lilly is doing much better today! The nurses did a deep suction on her nose and pulled out a big "plug" from her right nostril (aka a booger...). She seems to be doing better now, hopefully that was all that was causing her problems.

Davis is still doing well.

Weigh in time... Today was a big day for Davis! He hit the 3 pound milestone, woohoo! Lilly weighs 2 pounds and 12 ounces. She needs to start playing catch up!

Day 40 - 1/12/12

Day 40...

Lilly is still struggling a bit. They increased her CPAP support to see if that helps her breathe easier. They are trying to prevent having to go back to the ventilator... The NICU told us if she has to go back to a ventilator, then they are going to send her to Children's Hospital for further evaluation. They have looked at everything they can here and may need Children's to dig a little deeper to see if they can determine why she is working so hard to take breaths (could possibly be a floppy airway...). All her tests show that her lungs are working well and she is taking breaths regularly, but she has a noticeable stridor (per Wikipedia, the truth in all things in the internet: Stridor is an abnormal, high-pitched, musical breathing sound caused by a blockage in the throat or voice box). Musical??? Not my idea of music... Anyway, we are hoping they can figure out whats going on and get it fixed soon. We feel pretty helpless watching our baby girl struggle and there's nothing we can do to help.

Davis is still doing well. No big changes with him.

Weigh in... Davis gained an ounce, now weighing 2 pounds and 14 ounces. Lilly lost a couple ounces, so she is now 2 pounds and 12 ounces.

Day 39 - 1/11/12

Day 39...

Today was a rough day for Lilly. She didn't seem as energetic as she usually is and was struggling with breathing and keeping her heart rate up. They decided to run her for infection tests again and check her blood count. Early indications from the infection tests are negative, so that's good. Her blood count is at 30, so that's ok too. They think she may have inflammation in her nose or airway (from going back and forth on the ventilator), making it hard for her to breathe. They tried dropping a topical form of steroids down her nose to see if that helped. It didn't... So, she is getting 3 rounds of steroids in her IV to see if that helps the inflammation.

Davis is still doing well. They are talking about lowering his CPAP support early next week! Hopefully we can get him off the CPAP and move onto the next lower form of support, the high flow machine (uses nostril tubes... similar to what adults who are dependant on oxygen use).

Weigh in time... both kids have gained a total of 1 pound since their birth, woohoo! Lilly is now 2 pounds and 14 ounces and Davis is 2 pounds and 13 ounces.

Day 38 - 1/10/12

Day 38...

Today was a busy day for the kids! They moved from the general population area to the penthouse suite (ok, the isolation room...). Lilly and Davis are now sharing a separate room away from all the other kids. This is because Lilly is a carrier of MRSA. We kinda like the room because it is more private. We also love that we now have an unlimited supply of plastic gowns and gloves at our disposal... I'm starting to dig the whole plastic clothes thing, and I think I've lost about 40 pounds since we started wearing them. Actually, most of our nurses have been nice and let us slide on the gown thing while in the room (Thanks, Karen, Sarah and Allison!) We only have to wear them when we hold the kids.

Lilly was struggling on her CPAP today, so they went to a higher setting (bi-phasic... It puffs air at a set rate to help remind her to take a breath). Davis is doing well with his CPAP.

Weigh in time... Davis jumped ahead of Lilly in weight! Davis weighs 2 pounds and 12 ounces! Lilly weighs 2 pounds and 11 ounces.

Day 37 - 1/9/12

Day 37...

Another good day in the NICU! Lilly graduated to a CPAP this afternoon. She seems to be handling it well. It's great to see both kids off the ventilators and on CPAP!

Lilly went up on her calories per ounce of milk. She is now drinking 26 cal/ounce (was 24 cal/ounce). Davis is still on the 24 calorie stuff. Other than that, no big changes.

Weigh in... Both kids gained an ounce! Lilly is now 2 pounds and 12 ounces and Davis is 2 pounds and 11 ounces.

Measurements from Sunday night... Lilly is now 37 cm long (up 0.5 cm from last week), making her just over 14.5 inches. Davis is now 36.5 cm (up 0.5 cm from last week too), making him just under 14.5 inches.

Day 36 - 1/8/12

Day 36...

Today was a great day at the NICU! The babies are doing well today. They plan on moving Lilly to the CPAP tomorrow... hopefully it goes well!

Today was the first time we held the kids like normal babies (instead of the skin to skin kangarooing). They swaddled the kids and let us hold them in our arms. We liked it a lot better... it's a lot easier to look and interact with them when holding them (was tough to do that when they are laying on your chest...). Dad held Davis and mom held Lilly.

Weigh in... Lilly is at 2 pounds and 11 ounces, Davis is at 2 pounds and 10 ounces. They also did their full measurements today, but we forgot to ask about them.

Day 35 - 1/7/12

Day 35...

We went and visited our kids today, after not seeing them for the last 2 days. This is also the first time we are visiting with the kids after Lilly tested positive for MRSA.

The whole MRSA thing is pretty crappy. The nurses tell us it's not a big deal and many people are "carriers". But then they make you suit up in a gown and gloves before you visit with her. All the nurses do the same. Kinda hard to not think it's a big deal when the nurses treat your kid like she is a leper. They let mommy kangaroo (skin to skin contact...) with Lilly, but dad has to wear plastic gowns and gloves if he wants to sit next to them. They keep the NICU pretty warm for the kids, so it's not very pleasant hanging out for an hour in a plastic bag (dad's not a skinny guy, so he tends to sweat a bit when wearing plastic)... Then they tell mom she should go right home and shower and wash all of her cloths. Of course, MRSA is no big deal... We should probably burn the car we drove home, call in a hazmat team clean our house after each visit and never touch our dogs again (they can carry MRSA too). Other than that, no big deal... However, when we finally get to take our kids home, they say we don't need to worry about any of that anymore and we can treat her like normal (well, they say we need to make sure we wash our hands before and after we change her diaper... gross, who wouldn't do that anyway??? They also say if any of her bodily fluids get on anything, we will need to disinfect it. Good thing we got that nugget of advice... I would have normally just covered it with a piece of paper or something else near by). Not really sure what to think about all this... All we know is Lilly now has the scarlet letter in the NICU and we will have to deal with this every time we want to visit with her, boooooooo!

Other than that, the kids a doing great. Lindsey snuggled with both kids today and they did great. I think they missed mommy!

Weigh in time... Lilly is at 2 pounds and 10 ounces and Davis is at 2 pounds and 9 ounces.

Day 34 - 1/6/12

Day 34...

Lindsey had surgery today and everything went well. She is supposed to be on bed rest the rest of the day, so will be day 2 of us not visiting the kids in the NICU ("yes dear, of course I'll get you another drink... this is the 7th thing you've asked for in the last hour, are you sure your not taking advantage of the situation?"). We should be able to go back tomorrow... woohoo, we really miss our kids and can't wait to see them!

We talked to the nurses throughout the day and both kids are doing well. They are increasing Lilly's feeds to 25 ml every three hours. Davis is staying the same for now.

Weigh in... Lilly weighed in at 2 pounds and 11 ounces and Davis is up to 2 pounds and 9 ounces.

Day 33 - 1/5/12

Day 33...

Today is the first day that Lindsey and I did not go and see the kids in the NICU :( Lindsey is having some issues from her pregnancy, so couldn't make it to the hospital this evening. Lindsey is going to have surgery tomorrow to fix everything, so hopefully we will be back to see our little ones within the next day or two.

We did talk to the nurses today (several times... We're probably considered the crazy parents in the NICU) and everything is going well for both kids. Everything was fine with Lilly's cultures, so they pulled the IV from her head (that's right, her head... Maybe they can find a good vein in her face next time to see if they can freak out mom and dad a little more...). Lilly is also back to full feeds. So, all good news with her today!

Davis is still doing great! No real news with him. No big changes, just continuing to let him grow and get stronger.

Weigh in... Lilly stayed the same at 2 pounds and 12 ounces. Davis gained a couple ounces and is now 2 pounds and 9 ounces.

Day 32 - 1/4/12

Day 32... Happy 1 Month Birthday to Lilly and Davis!!!

Today was another crappy day for Lilly and another good day for Davis.

Most of Lilly's infection tests have come back and all are negative. Also, her cultures do not appear to be growing anything, so that's good news too. They also took another x-ray of her belly and they do not see anything in her intestines... more good news. However, during the monthly screening of patients at the NICU, Lilly turned up positive for the MSRA bacteria in her nose. She does not have an MSRA infection, but is now more susceptible to one. Apparently MSRA is pretty resistant to antibiotics, so if she does get an infection there is some special stuff they will need to do. They are starting her on antibiotic ointment in her nose to try and get rid of the colony. However, getting rid of the colony is tough to do (due to their resistance to antibiotics...). Because she tested positive, she now must be in isolation for the rest of her stay at the NICU. This means mommy and I will have to wear gowns and gloves whenever we are around her cage, touch her, hold her, etc. We can not go back and forth between Davis and Lilly like we normally would do. They recommend we come in and spend time with Davis first, then suit up and spend time with Lilly, then leave.

Lilly also had an echocardiogram yesterday. The doctor said that she still has a moderate to large PDA. They also saw signs of strain on her heart due to having to pump extra fluids (the PDA can cause blood recirculation, making the heart work that much harder...). Both of her left chambers are dilated, however both are still working properly. So, they are going to start Lilly on more diuretics (Lasix) to help reduce the fluids her heart has to pump. If the PDA doesn't look like it is closing within the next couple of weeks, then we'll have to talk about surgery. We're definitely not ready for that conversation, so we are hoping and praying it will close on it's own...

Lilly's blood count went up from 21 to 30 from the blood transfusion she received yesterday. However, she will probably need another transfusion soon. An increase of 9 points was good, but they don't want her count to fall below 30.

They started Lilly back on her feeds today since her tummy x-ray came back clean. She gets half feeds today and if she handles them well, she'll go back to full feeds tomorrow.

If the cultures still show no growth tomorrow and Lilly is able to go back to full feeds, they will stop her IV antibiotics tomorrow and remove her IV (this would be great... once less open area for the MSRA, or any other bug, to infect).

Davis is doing well again today. He is still on light CPAP support and handling it well. He is also doing well with his feedings.

Daily weigh in...

Lilly gained another ounce, so she's now 2 pounds and 12 ounces. Davis gained 10 grams... not enough to bump him up an ounce, so he's still at 2 pounds and 7 ounces.

Day 31 - 1/3/12

Day 31...

Today was a crappy day for Lilly and pretty good day for Davis.

For the last couple of days Lindsey and I have noticed Lilly has been looking pale. We brought it up to different nurses several times, but they didn't seem concerned. Low blood count can cause paleness and they tested her blood count on the 30th and she came back with a 31 (they look at blood transfusions if it goes below 30...). Today, Lilly was even paler and she started acting up on her CPAP. They looked at her blood gases and her CO2 was high. They retested her blood count and she is down to 21 (they think the 31 on the previous test was probably an error...). So, they gave Lilly a blood transfusion. They also moved her back to a ventilator to help her lower her blood gases. The nurses are also worried that she may have an infection. They x-rayed her belly and they saw something in her intestines that may be questionable (they said it could also just be gas...). So, they started Lilly on antibiotics. They also don't want to feed her until they can take another look at her belly (taking another x-ray tomorrow morning), so they will be giving her nutrition through her new IV. Lilly had a tough day... hopefully it gets better for her tomorrow.

Davis on the other hand is doing well. They lowered his settings on the CPAP... great news!

The weigh in... despite everything going on with Lilly, she still managed to gain 30 grams today. She now weighs 2 pounds and 11 ounces. Davis lost a few grams, dropping him to 2 pounds and 7 ounces.

Day 30 - 1/2/12

Day 30...

Another big day today. Davis went to his CPAP at 3:00 PM. He seems to be handling it well... hopefully we are done with the ventilators. Davis will get 2 more doses of steroids today, then he's done with them. Lilly continues to do ok on her CPAP (She had to go up to a slightly higher setting, but is handling it better).

The nurses are concerned with Lilly's weight gain... she only averaged 5 grams per day gain. So, they are going to increase the calories in her food starting tomorrow. They currently are getting 24 cal per ounce in her milk... she is going to start getting 26 cal per ounce. Davis's food is going to stay the same. Not sure why the low weight gain for Lilly is such a shocker... she is only on fluid restriction to help close her PDA and she was given a dose of Lasix to help get rid of fluid accumulation in her body, and we're surprised she only gained 35 grams over the week... well, I think she is doing great. Oh well, I guess the added calories means she will get bigger quicker.

Lilly gained 60 grams today, so now she weighs 2 pounds and 10 ounces (that makes 95 grams over 8 days, that averages just about 12 grams per day... and they're concerned about her lack of weight gain, booooooo). Davis gained 10 grams, keeping him at 2 pounds and 8 ounces.

Day 29 - 1/1/12

Day 29... Happy New Year!!!

Lilly and Davis are doing well. Lilly is still handling her CPAP fairly well. Davis is doing great on his ventilator. They are going to start giving Davis steroids tonight, with hopes of moving him to a CPAP tomorrow.

Today was the big measurement day for the kids. Both grew 0.5 cm longer... making Lilly just under 14 1/2 inches and Davis just over 14 inches. Both kids also weighed in at 2 pounds and 8 ounces (Lilly is 10 grams heavier than Davis... little miss piggy!).

They went up on Davis's food again. He is now getting the same amount of food as his sister... 22 ml every 3 hours. Davis has been on continuous feed due to refluxing, so he gets 7.3 ml stretched out over every hour. Lilly gets her food stretched out over an hour to help her with her reflux.

Day 28 - 12/31/11

Day 28...

Everything continues to go well with Lilly and Davis.

Lilly is doing great on the CPAP and Davis is doing well on his ventilator.

They went up on Davis's food today. He now gets 21 ml every 3 hours (was 19.5 ml).

Davis lost an ounce, weighing 2 pounds and 7 ounces. Lilly stayed the same as yesterday, 2 pounds and 8 ounces.

Day 27 - 12/30/11

Day 27...

Lilly is still doing well on her CPAP. She got her last dose of steroids this morning... hopefully she continues to do well without them.

Both kids gained weight today. Lilly gained a couple ounces and is now at 2 pounds and 8 ounces. Davis gained 4 ounces and now weighs the same as his sister.

Day 26 - 12/29/11

Day 26...

Finally some good news... Lilly went to the CPAP at 8:00 in the morning and she is doing great. She is on lower settings and she's handling it very well. Davis is doing well on his ventilator. He too is on low settings. It'll be a couple days before they start to talk about moving him back to a CPAP.

Lilly lost a few ounces yesterday, but that was to be expected. The Lasix they gave her yesterday is a diuretic, and they expected her to lose water weight. She also had a couple days of big weight gain, so losing a little is not a surprise. Her lungs sound really good, so looks like the Lasix worked. She weighs 2 pounds and 6 ounces. Davis lost a few grams and now weighs 2 pounds and 4 ounces.

Both kids also graduated to the next size up in diapers! Doesn't really sound like a big deal, but means our little ones are growing up!

They are keeping their feedings the same.

Day 25 - 12/28/11

Day 25...

Lilly waving to her momma and daddy.

Lilly in her new giraffe outfit and hat.

Davis in his new monkey outfit.

Lilly did not get her CPAP today... they are waiting for her ventilator settings to go lower before they make the move. She got her 2nd and 3rd dose of steroids today, hopefully that'll help. They also think she may have some fluid in her lungs, so they are giving her a dose of Lasix, a diuretic. Depending on how well the Lasix and steroids work, they may try the CPAP tomorrow.

Davis is doing ok back on the ventilator. He is back on the light settings.

Lilly and Davis both gained another ounce today. So, Lilly is now 2 pounds and 10 ounces and Davis is 2 pounds and 6 ounces.

Day 24 - 12/27/11

Day 24...

Today was another good and bad day.

Davis didn't last long on his CPAP, so back to the ventilator... They see some swelling in his voice box from pulling and reinserting the ventilator tube so many times, so they may have to give Davis some steroids in a few days before trying the CPAP again.

Lilly started steroids today in hopes that she will be able to move to a CPAP machine. She will get a total of 6 doses over 3 days. They will see if she is ready to try the CPAP tomorrow morning.

The good news... both kids continue to gain weight and do well with their feedings. Lilly gained 80 grams! She now weighs 2 pounds and 9 ounces. Davis gained 30 grams and he now weighs 2 pounds and 5 ounces.

Both kids are getting the same amounts of food.

Day 23 - 12/26/11

Day 23...

Lilly and Davis got their full measurements yesterday, but we forgot to ask about them... bad parents.

Lilly measured 14.2 inches long, so grew a little bit from last week. Her head also was larger, now at 25 cm (was 24 cm in previous weeks). She lost 10 grams today, but still weighs in at 2 pounds and 6 ounces.

Davis measured 14 inches long, growing 1/4 inch from last week. His head is also larger, now at 25.5 cm (1.5 cm larger than previous weeks). He gained an ounce today, now weighing 2 pounds and 4 ounces.

The big news... Davis went to a CPAP today (hopefully the 3rd time is a charm). He seems to be doing ok on it... we'll have to see how he handles it over time. They are going to consider putting Lilly on a CPAP tomorrow. First, she gets a chest x-ray tomorrow morning. Depending on the x-ray, she may need steroids first.We are hoping and praying she doesn't need steroids and can go straight to a CPAP... there can be some bad side effects with steroids.

Both kids are eating the same amount of food.

Day 22 - 12/25/11

Day 22... Merry Christmas!!!

Davis in his Christmas outfit.

Davis showing daddy how a fishhook works.

Lilly posing for the camera!

Awww, she's embarrassed now...

Lilly holding daddy's hand (well, thumb...). It also looks like Lilly has the bulls thing down (look at her right hand)... daddy's proud, Go Bulls!

Mommy, daddy and Auntie Lori went to the hospital to spend Christmas morning with our little ones. We also got to dress them up in their Christmas clothes for their 1st Christmas pictures! Thanks Aunt Lori for getting the special preemie Christmas outfits!

Lilly and Davis are both doing well. Lilly gained 20 grams, but is still at 2 pounds and 6 ounces. Davis gained 10 grams and is still at 2 pounds and 3 ounces.

They didn't make any changes to their feedings or ventilator settings.