Evening Update on the Boys

I can't tell you how great it was to see them today. It's so darn hard to leave them their. I'd stay all night if I could.

I went back for another feeding time and it was so nice to walk into the room and see them snuggled up in the same bed. My Mom came with me tonight and she got to hold one while I fed the other....I think she enjoyed herself ;)

The doctor called while I was there and so we got to chat! Here are the updates:

Camden: Doing really well, just have to get him taking his feeds from me and he did SO good this time. He fed for 18 minutes! They will check his bilirubin levels in the morning and we're hoping they stay low. If they do and he continues to feed well he will go home shortly. They are up to between 50-60mls at each feed!! GO BOYS GO! We'll have a weight update in the morning.

Christian: Yesterday was full of "episodes" and lots of craziness with him and his oxygen levels. Today he really only had one issue and it was after feeding time. So that is an improvement. They feel the caffeine worked really really well. She explained to me that in adults it's obvious how caffeine works in our system. We drink a quad latte, can feel the effects and feel it wear off. It moves through our system at a basic rate. With infants it's not exact. It can move through instantly or take a week or more. So, you could have a perfectly healthy baby at 7 days and send them home not knowing if there was caffeine still in them and then they'd crash in the night. So they have you wait the full 10 days to see if after it has moved through the system if they are still OK on their own.
He is on room air, and he's on about a liter which is quite a bit, like a fan blowing in your face. They will slowly decrease this amount and see how he does.
He did amazing today at his feed, much more into it and ate for 20 minutes! He was alert the WHOLE time we were there. He tracks amazingly well with his eyes already.

They are both in clothes too! They are in preemie clothes and they are still huge on them! I'm hoping by the time we take them home things fit a little better!
We found out tonight that the nurse Jack had, our amazing angel of a nurse, had been gone for 4 months with a broken foot but will be back tomorrow for the first time!!! YAY!!! So we're praying we get her! But just to see her will be amazing.

Jack asked to go see them tonight :) We'll take him in again tomorrow for a quick peek.

It was hard putting away their clothes and blankets tonight....unpacking that suitcase. It felt like just yesterday we did this with Jack. I hated going into the NICU and knowing what to do, the routine of checking the temp, changing the diaper and feeding. I hated knowing where to put my milk and where to wash my pump.

SO here is something incredible.....Our NICU is the only thing in Southern Oregon and Northern California and they are actually in the middle of an expansion by 13 beds. It can be so busy that there are numerous times where they have to send babies to Eugene which is 3 hours north. Just TODAY they had to decline a transfer because there was no room. WOW. What if we had taken Camden home only to realize today that his levels were high and he needed treatment. They'd have no room for him. One or both of my boys could have been sent 3 hours away from me. I can't even go there. I can't even process all that would mean. I am SO thankful for our pediatrician and her wisdom. I am so thankful they are here and together!!

Thank you for praying. Thank you for loving us. Keep it up and I KNOW they will be home soon!!

Here is today's picture!

Camden on left, Christian on right and there is a picture of Jack just behind them :)