Reunited at last!! Plus...life in the NICU

Greetings from Bethesda, MD!!

This morning was an exciting day for our little guys!!  For the first time since they were born, they were reunited and in close proximity to each other.  Because they are all doing so well (off IV, no supplemental oxygen, ect) they are all sleeping in the same crib.  It is quite a sight to see and you can tell they notice each other.  Right before we left for the night, Caleb was curled up right next to Gideon.  If nothing else...this makes us feel good that they have each other again.

From Left to Right:  Ezra, Gideon, and Caleb

Quite honestly...that's it.  We visited them three times today: morning, afternoon, and tonight.  It is likely we will maintain that schedule as long as they are there.  When we go to the hospital we go through several steps.  First, we sign in and get buzzed into the NICU.  No one except parents are allowed in...unless the parents also escort another individual.  BUT...that person must have had the H1N1 vaccine more than ten days ago.  Once we are buzzed in, we wash up for three minutes.  This is the full "surgeon" type scrub you see on TV.  They even have little timers that are activated by the water running to make sure you track how long you've been scrubbing.  I'll tell ya...when you are excited about seeing your little one...it takes discipline and the knowledge you are washing for their safety to get the full three minutes in!!

Once washed up we head to the pod.  The nurses are really, really good about updating us before we even ask.  In their first week we got updates like oxygen levels, temperatures, medicine, feedings and things like that.  For now, the biggest update is on how much they are eating and in what quantities (bottle vs feeding tube).  Occasionally we'll get other news like this evening:  "Gideon threw up most of his previous feed."  Poor guy.

Once updated, we usually jump right into helping with care.  Care times are every three hours and each boy is spread 1/2 hour apart.  Because preemies are more sensitive to stimuli, the nurses try to group all the stuff that needs to be done into their care time.  For us...this consists of taking their temperature, changing their diapers, changing shirts when needed, and helping the nurses do their checks.  The nurses listen to their hearts, lungs, and intestines, measure their stomach girth, take blood pressure, and in the evening, weigh them.  Occasionally they also have their feeding tube changed..which is tough to watch because they really, really hate it!!

The last part of care time is feeding.  Depending on if the boys are giving cues, how much they fed with a bottle previously, and how much "energy" they are displaying, the nurse decides whether to try with a bottle.  If so, we try to feed them for a few minutes until they've had enough.  Then they are given the rest through their feeding tube.  Either way....this is the best part of care time because this is when we get to hold them and when they are usually most alert. 

Mommy feeding Gideon

Daddy holding Gideon (left) and Ezra (middle)

By the time their feeding is done, they are usually back asleep.  We either keeping holding them for awhile or put them back in the crib to start work in the next one. 

So that's about it.  Here are some more pictures from the day....

Ezra making a face at the camera

(okay...I know he doesn't know he was doing that...but it's still cute!)

Gideon during a feeding

Caleb trying to eat the gauze!

We hope you have a great day!!

God Bless!

J & A