The Parenting Handbook

Shhhhhhhhh - don't tell. Everyone tells you there's no parenting handbook. What they don't tell you is that there ARE parenting handouts. Seraph's nurses sent me home with enough handouts to be a handbook. (I guess they save money by not binding them into a book!)

I inserted my first NG tube today, gave blood-thinner shots, and other meds thru the NG tube. I kinda feel like a nurse.....

btw...
when they were teaching me how to give the shots, they said I had to give it into her fat. What fat? Seraph has less fat than....a turkey sandwhich...Then she said I should give the shot into her abdomin (I guess that's where her fat is hiding.) Oh, and the shot has to be pointing straight down...so don't push it too far in. Eeeeep! As awful as it was to give my sweet Seraph shots, the NG tube ordeal was much, much worse. as Strong Bear likes to say, "awwwww.....poor lil Seraph"(OK, really he likes to say "awwww...poow widdle Angel"..but he says it when he's looking at pictures of Seraph...and after about 4 corrections he switches to the right name.)

Seraph has one more blood test that needs to be done tomorrow at the hospital. So, she didn't come home today, but everything is looking good for her to come home tomorrow. Sexy Haqon played Christmas songs all night because "tomorrow we're getting a wonderful present - so it's like Christmas!"

I love him :)

In the hospital again...

Me. I have to stay with Seraph in the hospital for 24 hours to show I can handle her cares. They'll teach me her feeding schedule and her medicine schedule and go over CPR again...and maybe a few other things. She'll need her carseat test, too. They *might* send Seraph home on Wednesday (that's tomorrow night!!!!).

Angel will be staying with me at the hospital, too. Wish me luck - I've never had to take care of both of them at once before.

Pictures!!

Today we had our whole family together for the first time :)


Beautiful Rabbit loved holding her baby sisters.











Seraph (left) and Angel (right) back together again. I think they sleep better together.










The whole family :)

Seraph is in a room by herself now. It's about the same size as my hospital room last month. There's a pull-out couch for a parent to sleep in.

Seraph is scheduled for an ecg tomorrow. Then they'll decide her plan for care - including when she might be able to come home :)





Nearly forgot - here's a picture of Seraph/Angel toes for their Aunt Saphire;)

Seraph got her stitches out :)

Haqon and Rabbit were pleasantly surprised to find Seraph's stitches had been removed. They both loved holding her - Rabbit even let Daddy have a turn holding the baby this time.

(When Strong Bear was born, Beautiful Rabbit wanted to hold him forever. She kept assuring Daddy that he could have a turn when her turn was over. ....but her turn just wasn't over yet....)

Happy My Sister's Birthday :)

Yes, I do have a sister. I guess I don't talk about her much. I don't even have a secret internet name for her yet. It's more polite to let people pick out their own, don't you think? Anyway, Happy Birthday :)

Haqon and Rabbit went to visit Seraph tonight. Rabbit is excited to hold Seraph. I wanted to see how hard it would be to watch Angel, Bear, and Finch by myself. It was barely OK. I might have trouble if I had to do it every day. Doh! I'm gonna have to do it every day soon.....plus watch Seraph, too.

...more on that later.

Bear and Finch play together delightfully. Finch really asserts herself. I watch her picking the games now. Though, Bear still rams her and other fun "boy" games that she only likes half the time.

They moved Seraph's NG (feeding) tube so it feeds her stomach instead of her small intestine. I might be able to start nursing her this coming week. Sadly, my nieces who help babysit the kids so I can visit Seraph at the hospital (and don't go more crazy than I already am) are both going to girls' camp this coming week. Well, better this week than next week :)

My mom's family had a reunion this weekend. I'm sad that I didn't get to go. We decided it would be one too many things to wear us out while taking care of the twins. I heard it was lots of fun, though...and the most of my family did get to go. Good job, guys - and we'll catch ya next time :)

"I'm Extra Good Looking Today"

Tuesday when we went to see baby Seraph, Sexy Haqon picked up the security phone and said, "I'm extra good looking today." The PICU doors immediately popped open to reveal an amused nurse. When she finally stopped laughing enough to talk, she explained that she'd heard lots of jokes and people pretending to be the pizza guy, but this was the first time for that one :)

Haqon's always cheering people up like that. It's nice to have him around. ...plus, I've never seen the PICU doors open so fast!! XOXOX

Everybody Else gets a Nap

Baby Angel fell asleep once her tummy was full.









Strong Bear fell asleep while I was moving lunch from the stove to the counter.








So, I went to get Delightful Finch up from her nap, but she was still dead asleep.








So I came back downstairs. Bear had moved, but was still out.
I figured I should move him to the couch so he wouldn't fall. Technically I'm not supposed to lift him yet, so I went to find Beautiful Rabbit.....






...and I found her snuggled up on Finch's Teddy Bear.









It was just a few steps, so I moved Bear to the couch. He didn't wake up.








I was sooooo sleepy, but hungry too. So, I opted for lunch. Then everyone woke up before I had my nap. Everyone woke up happy except Strong Bear. He really hates waking up from naps. He was grumpy all evening.

-- I am extra good looking today --

That is all that I have to say.

Family Time

We took everyone for a walk tonight after dinner. Delightful Finch likes to look at every rock/tree/flower/bug/bush/car/pebble/spec of dirt/blade of grass....etc. She walks a bit slower than Sexy Haqon (I think her legs might be shorter.) ...But if you hold out both hands like you're gonna pick her up, she comes running. ...and when that stops working, Beautiful Rabbit chases her down. First Rabbit yells, "FInnnnnnnnnnch!!" So that Finch can get a running headstart. Good thing Rabbit is faster than Finch :)

We ran into some neighborhood friends that we met at a different park on the Fourth of July. It was fun to see them again and play with them again. Strong Bear had fun chasing the girls and running from the dogs. Haqon had fun riling up all the kids...and trying to eat their brains ;) Angel slept like...an angel.

Angel :)

Angel's pediatrician was concerned about her weight. She lost 5 oz between her 2nd and 3rd week - he'd wanted her to gain atleast that much.

Over the weekend, Angel and I worked really hard on staying awake long enough to really eat. It was hard! But, I'm happy to report she's back up to her birth weight. :)

Good job, Angel!

Holding Seraph :)

They extubated Seraph today :) I think her throat still hurts. She was blowing bubbles instead of swallowing. But, I think she's happier. She gets to have her binky again. and like Delightful Finch, Seraph really likes her binky :)

They took more tubes out of her chest. I think the only thing they left in her chest was the blue tubing for the pace maker. They still haven't had to use it, but it's there "just in case". It'll come out soon, too.

I don't know how long she'll be in the PICU healing. She's doing so well, it's easy to just get crazy excited for her to come home. It was wonderful to hold her. She's heavier than Angel....but I'm not sure how much heavier. Or how much of that weight is excess fluids that will be draining off.

Seraph Update

Seraph is doing well. They took out a few more tubes. They're letting her practice breathing on her own sometimes. They've decided to keep her in the PICU. Her nurse said she's feisty, which is a good thing. She peeked at me twice while we were there. (Not my fault Haqon was looking the wrong way and missed it!)

Haqon and I completed the CPR training. They even brought in TWO infant dolls for us to practice on (twins!). I was much better at the CPR than Haqon was. He kept breaking out into song!

Seraph Update

They closed Seraph's chest. She tolerated it well. They expect she'll graduate from the PICU early next week. They kept some of the draining lines in. Once those are out, we'll be able to hold her again. She's eating 2ml of breast milk every hour. They're still IV feeding her, too. She's tolerating the milk well. (She has a feeding tube down her nose and into her small intestine.) She was pretty bloated from the blood transfusions. So, she's got a double chin that'll go away once the excess fluids drain off.

This weekend Sexy Haqon and I will go through some CPR training at the hospital in preparation for bringing Seraph home. I'm a little scared of having both to care for at once...but I'm also very excited. Angel's fit in so well with our family. I expect the same for Seraph once she's home.

Happy Birthday, Mommy!

I had the most wonderful birthday. My parents visited me. Then, Beautiful Rabbit and Angel came with me to visit Seraph at the hospital. We stopped to see the nurses who took care of me when I was inpatient and the gal who did most of my NST's while I was there. We also had yummy ice cream with some friends who were inpatient the same time I was..who're now semi-residents of the NICU's. It was nice to see everyone again :)

My favorite birthdays are the ones where I get to spend the whole day with my family. Besides, I went shopping the day before and picked out a couple of wonderful presents--some books and clothes :) And the day before that, Sexy Haqon took me out on an actual date for my birthday - thanks to a very sweet babysitter! ...always fun to be with my hunny :)

Picture Angel

Here's my sweet little Angel :)

People keep asking me how we'll tell them apart. Aside from the obvious (Seraph's scar from surgery), Angel's hair is longer for now. Seraph's hair isn't long enough to stick up off her scalp.And Yes, Their cowlicks both go the same way.

Don't be embarrassed about asking - I could never tell other people's twins apart....even some who weren't identical (doh!).

Seraph

Seraph looks like Angel again! It was such a relief to see her looking so good. Her color is much better and her swelling has gone down a lot!

They're getting closer to being able to close her chest. She's doing really well. More updates after more waiting. :)

ooooh - she was awake and moving around a bit, too :)

Picture Angel & Seraph Together again :)

This was last night just before Seraph's surgery. Angel is on the left and Seraph is on the right.

Seraph out of Surgery - doing OK

They reconstructed part of her heart. They'll leave her chest open for 5-7 days while the swelling goes down. She's doing OK...esp for her age. They'll be watching her closely for the next 48 hours. Hopefully she'll continue to heal. She's intubated but her heart is beating on it's own (and without a pace maker).

Seraph's Surgery

Seraph is in (heart) surgery right now. They started about 45 min ago. No updates yet (not that we'd expected any). Haqon, Angel, and I are waiting at the hospital. Thanks for your prayers.

Angel,

Pictures: Baby Seraph with her family :)

click for pictures

I added pictures of Angel and Seraph to previous posts found here. (click me)
:)
enjoy

Picture: Angel Toes - 1 week

Picture: Seraph Toes - 1 week

Picture: Seraph - 1 week

Picture: Angel - 1 week

More Pictures

Mommy & Angel














Mommy & Beautiful Rabbit :)

Picture: Seraph - 6 days

6 Days Old :)

Our sweet Angel wants to come home. Last night she grabbed her feeding tube and yanked it out! They've decided not to put it back in. She's doing well with her temp. It's looking like she might be coming home early next week.

Doh! I'm not ready, I'm not ready! It's like.....waiting in line for AGES at the roller coaster. Then finally get to sit down and it feels so nice. You start climbing higher and higher. The view is nice and keeps getting nicer. It's so relaxing. Then you hear screams from the car in front of you! Then it's all "doh - what was I thinking..." you check your seatbelt and the lap bar to make sure it can't dump you out...and then you see the couple ahead of you drop over.....and then you hear yourself screaming :)

I'm excited to have the twins come home...I just thought I'd have a bit more time to prepare myself for that leap. My sil keeps telling me I won't get any sleep after the twins come home.


Seraph is still on watch. They took her off oxygen. They're watching her upper and lower blood pressures. They're ordering more bili-lights for her jaundice. They're giving her a blood transfusion-cardiology wants her blood volume to be on the higher end of normal. They haven't scheduled her surgery yet - just more watching and waiting for the right time.....maybe next week.

I got to hold Angel for an hour today...and then Seraph for a long time, too. It was....wonderful :)

and then everything blurred together....

Dealing with NICU stuff is much harder than dealing with inpatient stuff. My emotions are too close to the surface. I tear up over nothing...and sometimes feel nothing when I could be crying.

Angel:
All good news :) Angel is in the step-down nursery. (Not ready for normal nursery but doesn't need intensive care either.)
1. Food.
They're upping her caloric intake based on her weight and expenditures. She has a feeding tube (through her nose and down into her stomach). They only use the feeding tube for every other feeding. Otherwise I nurse her (if I'm there) or a bottle (if I'm not there).
2. Breathing
She's been breathing room air on her own from the start. They warned me that 34-weekers often regress on breathing after the first few days. I guess they just get worn out because they're so tiny and eating/breathing/staying warm is too much to do all at once. Angel has never needed any help breathing and they're not worried about it.
3. regulating her own temperature.
Angel is in an incubator (we call it her condo). She stretches out and lounges around all day like she's laying out in the sun. Today her condo was set to 30.0 degrees. Once it's down to 29.0 Degrees they'll switch her to an open crib.

Angel just needs to keep gaining weight. I expect she'll be able to come home when she's 2 weeks old.


Seraph -
1. food
Because she'll most likely need heart surgery soon, Seraph is fed through IV's instead of real food. She seems to be a natural nurser--she roots and sucks and loves her binky. She's always trying to get more of her binky into her mouth :)
2. breathing
on day 5, they finally put Seraph on a liter of oxygen. She just has the tiny nose tube - like I had when I was doing an NST that said my oxygen was low. Her lungs are working extra hard because of a heart problem. This was expected - actually we thought it'd happen sooner.
3. regulating her own temperature
Seraph is really good at this. The first 3 days she was just in a crib. She's under a heat lamp now...but that's mostly because she has so many tubes and probes that it's easier for the doctors to heat her air than to keep wrapping and unwrapping the blankets.
4.jaundice
The doctors have Seraph on a bili-blanket as a pre-emptive strike against jaundice. her count wasn't that high, but it seemed to be going up so they started helping her.
5. heart problems
the cardiologist is still watching her closely. At this point when asked if she needs surgery, the answer is "not yet".

Picture: Angel - 4 Days Old

Picture: Seraph - 3 days

Daddy, Mommy, & Seraph

More pictures of Angel and Seraph

Mommy and Sleepy Seraph








Sweet lil Seraph
















Mommy!

Daddy holding his lil Angel :)