Monday, February 7, 2011

Twins Blog - Feb. 7, 2011 - "Are we there yet?"

Recap of Events


Weight
Almost 4 pounds. They're really starting to pack it on now. They're fed about 40ml every 3 hours. No problems with digestion.

Breathing
Ethan is off the vent and on nasal cannula. They use it to supplement additional oxygen to him. He started with 30% and it gets dialed down daily. Once he hits 21%, he won't need it anymore. (ie, ambient oxygen concentration is 21%)
Aidan is still on CPAP. But he's not struggling with it. He'll also be off the vent soon in another few weeks.

Behavior
Neither of the boys have any more IV lines connected to their limbs, so they're free to move their arms and legs around. Previously, the boys had all their limbs occupied with IVs which was definitely not pleasant.

Aidan is now less sensitive to loud noises. He still prefers quiet but he won't overreact to sudden alarms and crying anymore. He likes having his hair gently stroked while light pressure is applied to his abdomen area. He doesn't like having his foot held, but if you insist on not letting go, he eventually submits. He certainly hates his vent tube which restricts his head movements. But at least he doesn't extubate himself as often nowadays. It's probably because of the vent tube, but he seems to be a very sleepy baby. We'll see if this behavior persists when the vent goes away.

As soon as the vent tube went off, Ethan quickly showed his inquisitive personality. He'll touch and grab anything within reach. If we're by his side, he'll show us a variety of facial expressions. It's just brilliant! If no one is visiting him, he'll either sleep or explore his incubator with his hands. Perhaps it's because of his feeding tube, but he likes to make a face as if he's whistling. For whatever reason, he likes to place both his hands on his face.

As mentioned in a previous post, we've finally held Ethan in our arms. He appeared very confused of the world outside the confines of his incubator. It was funny as he maintained a very puzzled expression during the whole time. As soon as he was back in his incubator, he was back to old self, making weird and cute faces.

Both of them are now capable of crying but they only do so on rare occasions. I wonder if they'll stay this way even when they come home.

Today is day 66 at the NICU. No signs of PDA (patent ductus arteriosis), jaundice, brain bleeds or ROP (retinopathy of prematurity). Relief! Bad news are now a rarity in our last few visits and we're finally starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. It seems likely that Ethan will be coming home first and Aidan will need an additional couple of weeks.

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