As of their one week birthday, all the babies are either back to birth weight or just an ounce or two away. The nurses tell us that preemies often take up to a month to get back to birth weight, so we are extra proud of these overachievers. Of course, I'm willing to acknowledge that we may be ever so slightly biased.
I stood at each isolette at each baby's exact birth minute. It was so fun to remember back to a week ago and the happiness I felt as each came out crying. We are amazed and humbled at the progress these guys have made in a week. Every day I walk in half expecting the nurses to tell me that Roland and Becker went out on a double date. They're making such big strides every day!
Mr. Micah is still our sweet feisty guy. When I reach into his isolette he almost automatically reaches for my hand and holds on tight. His nurses expect that when I see him today, he will be off of CPAP. A few days ago the doc's detected a heart murmur which they suspected was PDA, a very common condition in which a vessel in the heart fails to close completely. Many babies resolve this on their own, or treatment is just a three day course of ibuprofen. When the doctor came in yesterday to confirm the diagnosis with an ultrasound, the murmur was no longer detected. She thinks that Micah closed the valve on his own in the couple days since she first heard the murmur. He is such a sweet boy, and so far the biggest cuddler.
Becker cracks everyone up these days. His one remaining issue is some spitting up after his feedings. so the staff has increased the duration of his feed to two hours hoping this settles his stomach. And though we know it's too early, the little ham is smiling. It's the funniest thing. He opens his eyes, looks around, and this big lazy grin slowly spreads across his little face. It's too cute! I'll try to get a picture soon but he was fast asleep in his swaddle for his birth minute picture and I was afraid that if I woke him I'd get a screaming baby picture instead of a smile. His face looks a little messy because he had some spit up from his last feeding.
Roland is our strong boy, though he didn't start out that way. Remember, this was the peanut that the doctor's thought would not survive in me through the first trimester? Roland is a warrior! Every day lately the reports on Roland go something like this. "Nothing to report. He's doing really great." My one complaint is that since he discovered the swaddle I don't think I've seen his eyes once. The swaddle seems to have cured him of wanting to be awake, and every time we see him he is in a slow easy sleep.
And then there's Marin Grace. MG had a heart murmur as well, and it her case, PDA was confirmed with the ultrasound, so she started on the ibuprofen treatment yesterday. The side effects can be trouble with digesting food and trouble in the liver, so she will be monitored closely for signs of these side effects. I know a lot of ladies in my Quad Mom's group whose little ones had this issue, and the outcomes have been very good. All in all, pretty minor stuff in the scope of preemie issues. She adores sleeping on her stomach so the nurses let her do it for some time each day. Unfortunately, this time stomach time coincided with her birth minute picture, and every time I tried to move her hand down, the little stinker shot it right back to her face. Who would have thought our little girl would be the camera shy one? Oh, well. Trust me, the cuteness is there! She is also opening her eyes quite a bit and doing great with her feedings. The nurses expect that her CPAP will be removed by Monday. Last night, Andy tried to tell the nurses that she would not be Daddy's Spoiled Little Princess, and the room erupted with people laughing and telling him that she would be daddy's pampered girl. Andy finally grinned and acknowledged "there may be some pink clothes from daddy in her future".
And last, because you've been asking, here's mom. Unfortunately I was due for my 30 week photo the day the babies were born, so the best "before" shot I have is 29 weeks. I was probably about five pounds bigger than this when the babies were born last week. Though I so badly wanted to hold them in until 32 weeks, I must admit that I am enjoying things like bending over, sitting upright, and being able to walk up and down the stairs without breathing like a bull, fighting the urge to pass out, and resting for thirty minutes after.
My surgery went great. I had some pretty severe swelling in my hands and feet, which has just started to go down in the last couple days. I am getting a not-quite-migraine every day that doesn't seem phased by the Motrin I take for the surgery pain. Last, the carpal tunnel I had during a few weeks of pregnancy came back with a vengeance after the babies were born. I am working on knitting blankets for them, and got less than two rows done the other day before my hands went numb.
And since everyone loves hearing about other people's dreams as much as they love watching four hours of someone else's vacation photos, I give you, My Dream. After csection, gas is very common. Not just ordinary gas that a belch will cure, but big roaming bubbles that expand the stomach and cause lots of unpleasantness down south. In my case the gas became really bad Friday. That night I fell into a half sleep, basically sleeping, but somewhat aware of happenings in the conscious world. As I dozed, gas bubbles began to move around my stomach and became pretty intense, so intense, that they began to feel like the movements of the babies inside me. I had a very vivid dream that the gas was a fifth baby that had somehow been missed on our many ultrasounds, and that I was going to have to go into surgery again to give birth to a fifth baby! That dream wouldn't have been so awful, except that every time I woke with it and realized I had only been dreaming, I fell asleep again only to repeat the dream and wake shortly after scared all over again! It was a pretty unpleasant Groundhog Day kind of night, until I was finally able to come fully awake in the morning and assure myself that we have only four, not five babies. I repeat, NOT five babies.
Basically, all my little issues are totally normal post csection symptoms and I have no real complaints at all. Today will be my last day driving to the NICU before I start taking advantage of the short walk over to get some exercise, and start rebuilding the stamina I lost with all my couch time during pregnancy!
So here you go, before and after baby. As of yesterday, I'm still 35lbs. over my pre-pregnancy weight, so I've got some work to do. No more Rice Crispy Treats for me Grandma Mary!
Last, with the pregnancy fatigue and all the activity since the babies were born, we still have not opened all our gifts or managed to send out a single Thank You for the beautiful gifts already received. So for now, please know that we are grateful for every last one, and you will be getting a proper note of thanks just as soon as I can write without my hand going numb.
Love and blessings,
Jen and Andy
Micah, Becker, Roland and Marin
No comments:
Post a Comment