Horray!

Christopher is off the ventilator!!! :D

As of 6 am this morning, Chris was taken off the ventilator and put back on his nasal cannula. This is a good step in the right direction. He is also back on feedings. Today he will move from 5cc's of "neocate" formula (because his tummy is sensitive to breast milk right now) and go to 7cc's--hoping there is no residual or spit-ups!

We are still waiting for lab results to come back on cultures and other blood draws. Hopefully we will know all of them by Saturday morning. I hope they all remain negative. Really hoping all of this stemmed from the staph on his pic-line (central line).

Mason on the other hand is still doing great. He even took 5-10cc's for the first time from my breast! Can you believe it!?!?! I make food from myself! SO CRAZY!

More updates when I get them. . . Can't wait until they can come home and DH can take his paternity leave! :D

More about Christopher

AN update as of this morning on Chris:

Christopher has been having A LOT of tests over the last couple of days. Today is a big one, called an "LP" or Lumbar Puncture. They have to go in (like an epidural) to check his spinal cord fluid for bacteria to see if there is an infection in his brain. *Sigh*

So we hope to hear back from that and the other tests that will tell us if he has bacteria there or mrsa or meningitis or something else. If he has some of those things he would have to be in isolation until he goes home.

My hope is that his PIC-line which showed some staph when tested is the entire problem and now that it is removed he will get better.

I will try to update over the next couple days when the results come in.

Thank you again for all of your T&P, we welcome any more you can spare for the days ahead-- especially the LP today.

Chris update

Chris has taken a turn for the worse and can no longer breathe on his own. We are hoping it is a temporary virus causing this.

But he is now on the ventilator again.

It was the scariest thing I've ever seen. I was here when he had his last major spell. He was so dusky. I wish DH was here, but he is sick today.

Come on little buddy, Mommy needs you. Xoxoxo


-C. Vaughn

Christopher

Christopher has had a very tough week. Today he was taken off all feedings (again) and now placed back on a breathing machine called a C-Pap.

He may have caught a virus.

All thought, prayers and well wishes welcome.

Stay strong, my little man.

I love you.


-C. Vaughn

Wowza! ONE MONTH!

My little boys are exactly, one-month old today.

I can't believe it! Time has flown by so fast with each day already planned out. . . get up, pump, get house somewhat clean from yesterday's mess, get ready and put some darn clothes on, pump, and then off to see my boys. Then around 5pm DH arrives and we stay for a few more hours with them. Then the long drive home. Rinse and repeat.

But I love nothing more then when I get to see them every day. And when DH come walking through the curtains into our NICU spot, I can relax even more. I cannot wait for him to be on paternity leave when the boys come home!

We are still hoping they will come home sometime in November. Yesterday one of our nurses told us that Mason will most likely come home before his brother-- which I was afraid of. I dreamed of loading them both into the car at the same time and driving off for home all together. *Sigh*

Not to mention how difficult it will be taking care of one baby at home and then still traveling to see the other in the NICU every day. . . How in the Hell is that supposed to work?!??!

Oh well, for now I will concentrate on all the great milestones they have had over the last month. After all one nth ago exactly, I was in labor. . .a few hours away from seeing them for the first time!

Mason: Moved from C-Pap to nasal cannula and this week had the cannula taken out! Breathing all by himself! He has had all of his umbilical and pic-lines removed. He is currently digesting 32 cc's of breast milk (with additional calories) and has not had any billilights in weeks! He also had his first bath on Wednesday! He has moved from 2 lbs 14 oz to 3 pounds 14 oz! One whole pound of weight gain!

Christopher: From ventilator to C-Pap and now on he is using a nasal cannula. His umbilical lines has been removed. Every day, he is receiving lower amounts of IV fluids through his PIC-line because his feedings of "neocate" (a gentle, lactose and soy-free formula) are increasing--now up to 7 cc's! Chris has not needed billilights for weeks and is getting help with too much fluid retention. He peed 81cc's yesterday in one diaper! His weight now has moved from 2 lbs 15 oz to 3 lbs 15 oz! He has gained a whole pound, too!

Wow. They are amazing. Happy one-month birthday little ones! Mommy and Daddy love you a million times!

Week one. . .

Week two. . .

Week three. . .

Week four. . .

Christopher.

Mason.

I LOVE YOU SWEET BOYS!!! - Mommy XOXO

It's impossible not to...

I HAVE to share this photo...

Oh, Mason...



-C. Vaughn

D&C complete. Should've gotten some bloooooood!

The D&C is over. Thank God.

The recovery that night was pretty rough. I was extremely dizzy and nauseous until quite later the next day, and frankly not myself again until Friday. (D&C was Monday)

But, it had to be done-- and hopefully now I can concentrate on my boys--and their eating difficulties. Like I need anything else to worry about. . .

The boys are 31 weeks old tomorrow. AND 3 weeks old today!

Mason, although eating 27cc's of breast milk, has been spitting up for the last few days since they increased his 'calories'--meaning they added a powder that adds two calories at a time. When it was just two added calories, he was perfectly fine, but since the doctor has increased his added calories to four, (24 total. 20 calories of breast milk + 4 powdered calories = 24 calories total) he has not had a feeding without some sit-up or residual. Frankly, he spit up on me a few times as I was kangaroo-ing him on Thursday.

The added calories make the breast milk "richer". The nurse equated it to "Having Thanksgiving dinner at every meal" vs a regular dinner. Yeah, you might get sick of that too. My poor guy.

Christopher isn't even feeding that well. He has, again, been pulled off all feedings and given a blood transfusion to try and help him to eat--at all. Not even the 'gentle-easy-to-digest' Neocate formula worked. The doctor is hoping that he just wasn't feeling as well and needed some added strength to be able to digest his food properly instead of spitting it up or having the complete amount of breast milk he was given, come back as residual. So he recieved a dose of blood yesterday. Little Chris is O+ like me! I hope this works or they will have to do a test to see if his digestive system is blocked somewhere.

Sigh. Mommy and Daddy are such fans of food-- boys, you should be too! Grooooow little ones!