Sunday, July 26, 2009

Happy 1 Week Birthday Babies!!!

So today for me was another day on the NICU banned list and while it wasn't what I wanted, I did get some much needed rest. Now the good part is I didn't have a fever all day however I just took my temp and it was 99.5, is that a fever? I guess I'll call in the morning and find out, I sure hope its not!

As for babies, all of their biliruben lights were turned off since their labs had all come back good (to learn more about some of these terms, visit (http://kidshealth.org/parent/growth/growing/preemies.html?tracking=P_RelatedArticle). Slade and Claire handled it great, however Ella's had to be turned back on. The good part of these lights being off other than the great development, is the fact that their eye masks are gone and you can see their little faces (so Brian tells me). All of them were able to tolerate their last feedings and all have gained a couple of oz. of body weight (still not back up to their birth weights yet though). Slade had another head scan and the dr.s and radiologist now consider him "normal" without any bleeds, yipeee! And finally since the babies are 1 week old, they are decreasing the humidity in their houses to start them on the path to normal outside air rather than "womb" like air. S0 that's the good news for today, and we love it!

So now for the less good news. Slades rate had to be increased to a 40 on his Cpap machine due to too many breathing episodes. The dr. said he is doing much better at this rate. However, after 40 the next option is using the ventilator, so we are really hoping he starts breathing better. Claire finally tuckered out a bit on room air so she also had a rate added in of a 20, which they expected would probably happen at some point. As for Ella's bleed, they retested and the good news is it does look like its improving. However they tell us that while that is a good sign, any damage is already done so we will have to keep a close eye on her and her development over the next 2 years. It also turned out that both Slade and Ella have the heart murmer flap thing and have begun medicine to help it heal. It turns out it is very common and in 80% of cases the meds take care of it and no surgery is needed. The good part is, fixing this issue can dramatically improve breathing function which Slade could really use. While its not something you ever want to hear that your child has to have, I feel very positive about it (another triplet mom in Buda had the same with one of her little ones and she is doing just fine now). So thats that, the sky didn't fall and our wonderful little ones made it through a roller coaster of a week. Happy Birthday Ella, Slade & Claire!!

Oh, here is a description of the heart situation and below is a short video where the nurse showed me Claires eyes for a moment a few days ago. Enjoy!

Patent Ductus Arteriosus
The ductus arteriosus is a short blood vessel that connects the main blood vessel supplying the lungs to the aorta, the main blood vessel that leaves the heart. Its function in the unborn baby is to allow blood to bypass the lungs, because oxygen for the blood comes from the mother and not from breathing air. In full-term babies, the ductus arteriosus closes shortly after birth, but it frequently stays open in premature babies. When this happens, excess blood flows into the lungs and can cause breathing difficulties and sometimes heart failure. Patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) is often treated with a medication called indomethacin or ibuprofen, which is successful in closing the ductus arteriosus in more than 80% of infants requiring these medications. However, if medical therapy fails, then surgery may be required to close the ductus.

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