Ok, so some of you may be getting really good at deleting these long-winded updates, but others of you are requesting them to be more frequent, so here's another one!
So many wonderful things happened today! Both babies came off of their antibiotics, because there were no blood infections found. Both babies began receiving formula also.
Aaron had a full day of no problems with breathing due to his new small dose of caffeine. He's the easiest to spend time with, because he's always peacefully resting or gently stirring and the doctors are able to just check in on him now and then. (I had a great moment with him last night, that I forgot to mention, when he woke up and followed my face back and forth with his eyes, checking me out for a little bit. It was highlight of my week since the birth!)
Elliott got his first all-day blue light treatment for jaundice, and he's responding well. They say he will be moving to an isolette like his brother soon, once he is downgraded from the bigger "c-pap" to a "canula" (just nasal leads going in) Also, within a day or two of downgrading that, they hope to move him to the intermediate care room with his brother Aaron.
I guess the big news is Jen got to finally visit with both boys today and she was soooo grateful. She had been waiting for almost 2 days since the birth, and even though it was hard to see them in their small and fragile state, it took a lot of the mystery and fear out of how well they were being cared for.
Jen's blood pressure has dropped for the better...at one point 134 over 78, which is the best so far this week. And she is eating like there's no tomorrow! She's on track to be out of here by Thursday or Friday at the latest, and she'll be waiting patiently in the Mother and Baby wing now, instead of the labor and delivery wing where she had been for a day and a half after the delivery.
Now, I know that all this sounds good, but probably the biggest thing for the Hickses is that we are very close to a pending sale of our house in Indiana. We had a pretty good offer today that we are accepting, so we don't have to worry about warming the house through the winter and paying a sizable monthly mortgage on a place we don't live. We figure it's one less thing to worry about since there are a few other things on our mind now:)
It's days like this that make me realize that God's truly watching out for us and wants to give our recently-doubled family the best chance at a good start.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Andrew's 5th update 11/27/07
Hey everybody! This has been quite the rollercoaster. I'm laying down in a bed next to Jen's and she's sleeping soundly. It's so quiet and calm. This is the most I think I've seen her rest undisturbed for a week. I think she's past the worst of it, but I know tomorrow that if she wants to see Elliott and Aaron, she will have to work through a pretty painful move down a floor. Keep her in your prayers, as she wants nothing more! :)
As for Elliott, he's receiving warm humidified air through a small mask just to his nose, but no oxygen is needed. It's all forced room air. He may be going down to a smaller breathing aid soon that is just a tube with nasal leads. When this happens, he will be most likely moved to intermediate neonatal intensive care, which is where his brother Aaron was moved today.
Aaron is on no source of forced air except for the controlled climate of his incubator, which we are able to open whenever we want ... to give him some gentle attention. His only problem of concern was that he has forgotten to breathe a couple of times tonight, once when I was standing at his side. The nurse simply comes over and jiggles him a little and he goes back to breathing as normal. She alerted a doctor shortly after the second time, and they are adding a small dose of caffeine to his supplements to help remedy it. This should only be needed for the first few days as his lungs finish forming and getting used to all this.
I know I should be sleeping right now, but you all are so important, and I can't possibly keep up with calling and texting everyone like I should. I can only say that I've never felt more welcome in our new home of Peoria and look forward to showing these guys off to all of you....as soon as we track down the missing camera cable we need to pull pics to the web!
As for Elliott, he's receiving warm humidified air through a small mask just to his nose, but no oxygen is needed. It's all forced room air. He may be going down to a smaller breathing aid soon that is just a tube with nasal leads. When this happens, he will be most likely moved to intermediate neonatal intensive care, which is where his brother Aaron was moved today.
Aaron is on no source of forced air except for the controlled climate of his incubator, which we are able to open whenever we want ... to give him some gentle attention. His only problem of concern was that he has forgotten to breathe a couple of times tonight, once when I was standing at his side. The nurse simply comes over and jiggles him a little and he goes back to breathing as normal. She alerted a doctor shortly after the second time, and they are adding a small dose of caffeine to his supplements to help remedy it. This should only be needed for the first few days as his lungs finish forming and getting used to all this.
I know I should be sleeping right now, but you all are so important, and I can't possibly keep up with calling and texting everyone like I should. I can only say that I've never felt more welcome in our new home of Peoria and look forward to showing these guys off to all of you....as soon as we track down the missing camera cable we need to pull pics to the web!
Andrews 4th update 11/25/07
Watch out world! Two more Hickses! Elliott Richard born at 6:31pm 2 lbs 13 oz 15 inches. Aaron Paul born at 6:32pm 2 lbs 12.6oz 15inches. Obviously these guys are small and a little early, so the doctors are doing everything they can to give them a good start. We are at Peoria's St. Francis (Children's Hospital), so I know God has the best hands and minds on the job of getting them healthy!
Jen is in recovery, resting and the doctors say everything looks good with her.
Thanks for all the prayers, everyone! So far so good!
Jen is in recovery, resting and the doctors say everything looks good with her.
Thanks for all the prayers, everyone! So far so good!
Andrew's third update 11/25/07
Well they've decided to have a c-section tonight because of some lab results done on Jen. We are both very excited though, because it's God's timing. We had the first snow of winter today and it's a Sunday, so Jen is happy. It was supposed to be at 7:00pm, but they've just moved it up to 5:30pm. I have every confidence that the next Bulletin will be the big news!
Andrew's second update 11/24/07
Jen was transferred to St. Francis Hospital this morning. She is doing well, but a little achy and groggy from the medicine. We still will have at least a few days hopefully before we see these guys. Pray for Jen's strength. She's doing great so far.
Andrew's first myspace update 11/22/07
Jen, my hot wife, is 31 weeks pregnant with fraternal twin boys, if you haven't heard. Well, she was in this Monday for a routine ultrasound and they found a couple things wrong, like high blood pressure and loss of protein. For her safety, they are keeping her in the hospital until the babies are delivered. The blood pressure is down now, with some medicine that they gave her, and she is feeling fine. But the lab work revealed that the constant loss of protein will require her to deliver much earlier than the Jan 23rd date. The doctors are just waiting to see how she does this week, to see when it makes sense to deliver the babies. But the babies are a healthy size and are doing great! Just keep all four of us in your prayers, as Jen prepares to be a mom, and I a dad, and the boys ... the most handsome twins the world has ever seen!
The boys
Lots of people are wanting to know how the boys are doing. Andrew has been posting updates on myspace but we understand that not everyone has a myspace account. I have decided to use this site to re-post Andrews updates and add some of my own thoughts and feelings. I hope you all enjoy!!! Keep praying for our little guys and come by to visit!!!
A small update for today and yesterday....
Elliott was taken off c-pap yesterday and given a cannula. He remains under the blue lights but was doing well. He looked so cute laying under the lights all sprawled out. He looked all relaxed like he was tanning on a beach. I went down to see him this morning and apparently he was acting crazy!!! His nurse said he just couldn't be still. He had pulled out his canula several times and was sucking on it = ) He also pulled off his "shades". He continued to pull them off and the nurse had to turn off the lights and position him on his tummy to calm him down. The nurse said she thought he was feeling much better and decided he wanted to get out of there = ) They continue to tell us that Elliott is doing great and will move where his brother is soon. Andrew and I went back tonight to see the babies. Elliott was taken off his canula because he had it pulled out more then it was in, and he was not having any trouble breathing. His skin looks good and they will remove the lights from him soon. He has a little rash on his skin from the stuff they put on him when he is under the lights and his little palms are super dry!!! He has my skin....sorry Elliott. Also, great grandpa Shurts was able to meet the boys and Andrew and I were able to hold Elliott for the first time. It was amazing!!! The line from Elliotts bellybutton was removed today and he was given a pic line in his left arm just in case he need medicine. It doesn't hurt him like IV's hurt us.
Aaron did not have any changes yesterday. His nurse told me that he was doing very well and the blue lights for jaundice would be removed from him in the next couple of days. Aaron has been pretty consistent through his first few days of life. A couple of nights ago he was so cute laying on his side with a tiny pillow between his tiny knees and his ankles crossed!!! We tried to get a picture but it's hard to do that when he is in an isolette. Today Aaron was having some trouble digesting his food. He missed a couple feedings. Everything else with him was fine and the nurse thought they might take him out from under the lights tomorrow. When we saw him tonight, his canula was also removed and his feeding tube was moved from his mouth to his nose. Both babies have had a hard time with the feeding tube in their mouths. They don't like how it feels on their throats and try to get it out. Elliott has especially had a tough time, gagging on it and what not. Anyway....Aaron looked good tonight. The nurse told us that he was given a suppository to help him poo since he hasn't pooed in a while. This will help get the yucky stuff out of his tummy so he will be able to eat. His nurse also said that he was pretty fussy so she fed him a litlte through a bottle nipple and he was able to do it!!! After he had some stuff in his belly he was happy again. I think Aaron smiled at Grandpa Shurts.
The boys seem to be in an unspoken competition...Aaron gets a cannula, Elliott has to have one, Elliott gets rid of his cannula, Aaron had to get rid his his, Elliott gets under blue lights, Aaron gets under blue lights...so funny!!!
A small update for today and yesterday....
Elliott was taken off c-pap yesterday and given a cannula. He remains under the blue lights but was doing well. He looked so cute laying under the lights all sprawled out. He looked all relaxed like he was tanning on a beach. I went down to see him this morning and apparently he was acting crazy!!! His nurse said he just couldn't be still. He had pulled out his canula several times and was sucking on it = ) He also pulled off his "shades". He continued to pull them off and the nurse had to turn off the lights and position him on his tummy to calm him down. The nurse said she thought he was feeling much better and decided he wanted to get out of there = ) They continue to tell us that Elliott is doing great and will move where his brother is soon. Andrew and I went back tonight to see the babies. Elliott was taken off his canula because he had it pulled out more then it was in, and he was not having any trouble breathing. His skin looks good and they will remove the lights from him soon. He has a little rash on his skin from the stuff they put on him when he is under the lights and his little palms are super dry!!! He has my skin....sorry Elliott. Also, great grandpa Shurts was able to meet the boys and Andrew and I were able to hold Elliott for the first time. It was amazing!!! The line from Elliotts bellybutton was removed today and he was given a pic line in his left arm just in case he need medicine. It doesn't hurt him like IV's hurt us.
Aaron did not have any changes yesterday. His nurse told me that he was doing very well and the blue lights for jaundice would be removed from him in the next couple of days. Aaron has been pretty consistent through his first few days of life. A couple of nights ago he was so cute laying on his side with a tiny pillow between his tiny knees and his ankles crossed!!! We tried to get a picture but it's hard to do that when he is in an isolette. Today Aaron was having some trouble digesting his food. He missed a couple feedings. Everything else with him was fine and the nurse thought they might take him out from under the lights tomorrow. When we saw him tonight, his canula was also removed and his feeding tube was moved from his mouth to his nose. Both babies have had a hard time with the feeding tube in their mouths. They don't like how it feels on their throats and try to get it out. Elliott has especially had a tough time, gagging on it and what not. Anyway....Aaron looked good tonight. The nurse told us that he was given a suppository to help him poo since he hasn't pooed in a while. This will help get the yucky stuff out of his tummy so he will be able to eat. His nurse also said that he was pretty fussy so she fed him a litlte through a bottle nipple and he was able to do it!!! After he had some stuff in his belly he was happy again. I think Aaron smiled at Grandpa Shurts.
The boys seem to be in an unspoken competition...Aaron gets a cannula, Elliott has to have one, Elliott gets rid of his cannula, Aaron had to get rid his his, Elliott gets under blue lights, Aaron gets under blue lights...so funny!!!
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