Grandparent Pictures

I have been wanting to post these pictures for a while. I thought I had it done yesterday, but I somehow keep getting interrupted. :)

We have had lots of great visitors. People have been wonderful bringing food and treats. Aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents have all visited or called to check on us or sent great stuff!

All the grandparents in Oklahoma have been to visit and have had their pictures taken with Rider and Josie. The only grandparent the babies haven't met is Grampa Champ because he is in Iowa.

Josie is HOME

I am so sorry for the delay in posting. We are experiencing a whole new kind of sleep deprivation. :) My internet has also been down and I haven't had the time/energy/motivation to go upstairs and try to fix it.

Josie didn't pass her sleep test again on Sunday, but the doctor thought she would do well at home as long as she is monitored. We haven't had any scary alarms, but her high heart rate alarm has gone off a couple of times when she gets really fired up. :) Jeff keeps saying she gets that from me, but I just am not quite ready to take credit for that.

She weiged exactly 5 lbs on Monday when she was dismissed. The entire process went so much faster since we had done it all the week before with Rider. We were all home together by 6:15 pm. Here is the first picture of the two of them at home with Daddy.

Rider is HOME

We came home with Rider last night at about 8:00 because we had to wait for the person to bring his monitor and train us on it. He passed his sleep study as "borderline normal" so that is the reason for the monitor. He had one Brady where his heart rate drops lower than it should, but he is always able to recover on his own. He weighed 5 lbs 10 oz at discharge.

Josie had a couple of episodes of apnea in her sleep study so the doctor thought it would be best for her to stay one more week. She has consistently been developmentally one week behind Rider so it isn't too surprising. The doctor also reiterated that she is doing great and is only showing her immaturity with the breathing struggles. She will continue to improve and catch up with her brother. She weighed 4 lbs 6 oz yesterday. It was more difficult to leave Josie there by herself than it had been leaving them both, but Jeff and I feel really good about doing what is best for both Rider and Josie according to their doctors.

Jeff and I were on our own last night and managed just fine. My mother came this morning and I took quite a few naps already. :)

Another Update!

I wanted to add an update again today because a lot happened last night/today. Josie is no longer on ANY meds and they removed her feeding tube. She has "nippled" all of her feeds in the last 48 hours. She is more than half-way to the amount she needs to eat to be dismissed. She weighed 4 lbs. 2.9 oz. and needs to gain about 7 more oz. She stayed all night in the open air crib and maintained her temperature well. They administered the hearing test and she passed that. The nurse on duty thinks Rider AND Josie will get to come home sometime next week!They have to wait 3 days from the last dosage of medicine for Josie to have her sleep study so that will be sometime after Sunday morning. Rider's sleep study is already scheduled (not sure if it is tonight or tomorrow.) I met with the physical therapist today to learn how to put Rider in his car seat. Here is a little side note/public service announcement: The additional pieces or supplements in car seats have been safety tested and do not perform well. The physical therapist asked us to take ours out to leave the hospital, but said it was our decision what to do when once we got home. Part of the car seat lesson was adding receiving blankets to the proper places so that Rider fits perfectly. I also learned the physical therapy we will need to do at home to help develop his motor skills. We went over "Back to Sleep" rules and why they are important in preventing SIDS. We will go over all the same information again on Monday just for Josie.

We are anxious for our family to be home all together. We appreciate so much your thoughts and prayers and encouragement!

2 weeks 1 day

Well..I have already dropped the ball as the family photographer. I took the above pics today, but I was planning to take pictures of Rider and Josie on each week. I couldn't catch Josie awake, but Rider was nice enough to keep his eyes open for the camera. Grandma and Grandpa Bewley came to visit today and brought Mother and Daddy some roast beef salad, crackers, preserves and jelly and Mother's very favorite--pumpkin cake! We got some pictures with them too. :) I have some excuses for my lack of pictures, yesterday was a big day for Rider (and for Mother and Daddy). At 8:00 am he was circumcised. Jeff and I sat outside the room and listened to him squawk. At 11:30 he and Josie had physical therapy evaluations. They both passed, but they get so tired afterwards they don't eat very well.

We were excited again to see that Josie had another day of growth for her 2 week birthday, AND she "joined the 4 pound club" as her Daddy put it. She weighed 4 lbs. 1.5 oz. She moved into an open air crib today and was able to maintain her own temperature well. It is another thing to check off our list. They have left the Isolette in the room just in case her temp drops a little tonight. Rider also continues to grow. He weighed 5 lbs. 3.5 oz. Josie is eating 40 ml and Rider is eating 45 ml. Today both babies nursed, and Rider took his entire feeding. Josie took about half and then finished the rest from the bottle. She has been doing better with her feedings this week, and that is another milestone that brings her closer to dismissal.

There is a list of things that have to be done before Rider and Josie can come home. Jeff and I took infant CPR on October 30th. Rider took a hearing test on Monday and passed that. We have an appointment with the physical therapist tomorrow at 11:30. She will teach us how to put Rider in the car seat safely. Because he is so small he can't just sit in the seat. They will also schedule a sleep study to make sure we don't need to take a monitor home with us. (One of the nurses told us that sometimes even full term babies go home with one.)

Josie will have to take the hearing test and do the sleep study as she gets closer to coming home.